The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority on Friday said that property owners and developers were complying with the 90-day amnesty period offered for building regularisation.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu approved the 90-day amnesty period.
The amnesty period, effective May 2, is for house owners and developers within the state to obtain requisite building permits for their property.
The General Manager of LASPPPA, Kehinde Osinaike, confirmed the compliance at a campaign embarked upon by the agency’s officials across the state to further educate the public on the need to obtain their building permits.
Osinaike, also a town planner, commended Lagos residents who had approached the authority to regularise their physical planning approvals since the opening of the amnesty window.
According to him, the turnout has been encouraging.
He said: “I can say that we have witnessed an impressive level of compliance from building owners since the programme started on May 2.
“However, so many people who are yet to take advantage of this opportunity can still do that from now till the end of July.”
Osinaike said that the amnesty window was to ensure that buildings would be constructed correctly and that necessary fees for physical planning purposes paid to the government.
On the possibility of extending the amnesty window, the general manager said that only the state governor had the prerogative to make the review.
He said that the three-month period was enough for the residents to perfect their planning approvals.
According to him, the process is seamless, affordable and achievable within three months.
Osinaike advised the residents to liaise with district officers of LASPPPA in their respective local government areas and local council development areas for guidance, adding that they should avoid touts or any third party agent.
The general manager listed documents required for processing building approval to include title document/proof of ownership, survey plan, as-built architectural drawings, structural, electrical and mechanical drawings, and non-destructive integrity test report, where applicable.
He said that the other documents included letter of structural stability and indemnity, where applicable, land use planning analysis report and other supporting documents, where applicable, including evidence of tax payment.
The state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, acknowledged the tenacity of LASPPPA in ensuring that Lagos residents were fully aware of the amnesty period.
Olumide, represented by Taiwo Fesomu, Director of Administration and Human Resource, Office of Physical Planning, Lagos State, urged the authority not to rest on its oars in ensuring that more house owners and developers would take advantage of the window.
He said that the state government, through the approval of the amnesty window without payment of a penalty, had proven to have a human face.
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The Commissioner said: “I want to implore Lagosians not to allow this amnesty window to pass them by.
“This gesture from the state government shows that the administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu does not want anyone to lose his or her property, but wants everyone to conform with laws guiding physical development in the state.”
NAN reports that the sensitisation campaign organised by LASPPPA started from its headquarters at GRA, Ikeja through Ikeja Under Bridge and Obafemi Awolowo Way to Alausa Secretariat and Maryland and some other parts of the state.
LASPPPA staff distributed flyers to residents and sensitised them about the need to take advantage of the amnesty opportunity.
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