Lagos govt. sensitises residents voluntary compliance with planning permit

Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), on Monday, said that compliance with physical planning permit laws would guarantee safety of houses, prevent collapse and ensure beautiful and healthy environment.

LASPPPA General Manager, Mr Kehinde Osinaike, said this during a road show to sensitise residents on the need for voluntary compliance with physical planning permit laws.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the road show was held in Eti-Osa Local Government Area and Lagos Island Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state.

“What we are trying to tell the good people of Lagos is that there are enormous benefits inherent in voluntary compliance,” he said.

Osinaike said that the benefits of compliance to planning permit outweighed the consequences, hence the need for residents to embrace it.

According to him, building collapse and haphazard development usually occur wherever compliance is ignored.

“One of the benefits of voluntary compliance is that it will help us to ensure that there is safety in terms of lives and property.

“Two is that buildings will also be constructed in consonance with our extant laws.

“We will also be able to ensure that the right professionals are always on site during and after construction,” he said.

Osinaike said that the advocacy would be sustained “until everybody is brought to compliance voluntarily.”

He said that non-compliance would attract sanctions, including sealing of construction sites, payment of penalty fees, imprisonment and outright demolition, if the building was defective.

He said that a similar exercise was held in March at Ikeja, Agege, Ifako-Ijaiye local government areas to sensitise residents on the benefits of voluntary compliance.

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According to him, it is mandatory for residents to obtain planning permit before embarking on any construction, after which they should approach the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) to obtain other required documents.

A Deputy Director at LASPPA, Mr Musa Okuniyi, who is a town planner, listed the three important documents which developers and individuals should present before getting planning permit.

Okuniyi explained that those who had built without requisite approvals could correct the errors by visiting LASPPPA for assessment and approvals.

He advised residents to always crosscheck with LASPPPA before purchasing any land so as not to fall into the trap of buying land that cannot be developed or used for intended purposes.

NAN reports that during the road show, LASPPPA officials, led by the general manager, were in a motorcade, sensitizing residents with the use of public address system.

Aside distributing fliers, they also visited some construction sites to sensitise workers and sealed some building projects with serious infractions.

The agency also used music and dancers to attract people to the awareness campaign.