Lagos grants 17,279 planning permit approvals in nine months, resolves 399 disputes – EnviroNews

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The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) granted 17,279 planning permit approvals between June 2025 and March 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen physical planning administration.

The state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Abiodun Olumide, disclosed this during the 2026 Lagos State Ministerial Press briefing to mark the third year of the second term of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The event held on Friday, May 29, 2026, in Ikeja.

Olumide said the authority recorded a total of 21,603 planning permit applications within the period under review.

According to him, LASPPPA received 14,549 planning permit submissions and granted 11,701 approvals between June 2025 and December 2025.

He added that, from January to March 2026, the authority recorded additional 7,054 submissions and approved 5,578 applications.

The commissioner also disclosed that the authority processed thousands of applications during the 60-day planning permit amnesty programme introduced by the state government from Oct. 1, 2025  to Dec. 31, 2025.

According to him, the amnesty programme generated 7,198 permit submissions, while 4,113 approvals were granted within the period.

He said the initiative significantly improved compliance with physical planning regulations and encouraged property owners to regularise their developments.

Olumide said the state government had continued to strengthen LASPPPA’s operations through technology-driven initiatives and sustained public engagement.

He said Sanwo-Olu recently launched the Electronic Physical Planning Permit Processing System (e-PPPS) to simplify and modernise planning permit administration across the state.

According to him, the digital platform enables applicants to process planning permit applications online from any location, thereby improving transparency, accessibility, efficiency, accountability and ease of doing business.

Olumide said that the introduction of the electronic permit processing system would reduce physical interactions between officials of the agency and applicants.

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He added that it would minimise delays and curb misunderstandings often associated with permit processing and enforcement activities.

He said LASPPPA had intensified stakeholder engagement to ensure seamless implementation and wider public acceptance of the digital platform.

The commissioner added that the authority sustained sensitisation programmes,  advocacy campaigns and press briefings to deepen public awareness on planning regulations and the need for permit regularisation.

He reiterated the commitment of the state government to leveraging technology and institutional reforms to promote orderly urban development and improve physical planning administration.

Similarly, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development resolved 399 physical planning disputes through mediation and enforcement actions in the last one year.

Olumide said the ministry, through its Technical Services Department, received a total of 987 petitions relating to development disputes and public complaints during the period under review.

According to him, 17 illegal structures were removed, while 52 buildings were sealed for non-compliance, and 519 petitions still under investigation.

He said the ministry achieved a 47.76 per cent resolution rate within the period under review.

“As part of efforts to ensure orderly development and strengthen public confidence in physical planning administration, the department intensified mediation and conflict resolution mechanisms relating to development disputes and public complaints,” he said.

The commissioner said that the petitions, received daily, involved complaints such as blocked drainage channels, encroachment on roads and other development-related infractions.

“Almost about 13 petitions are received daily on the average. People complain that somebody has blocked drainage channels,  somebody has blocked the road, among other complaints,” he said.

Olumide said that the ministry’s intervention had significantly reduced litigation burdens, minimised enforcement conflicts and strengthened public confidence in the ministry’s dispute resolution framework.

He added that the department would continue to provide technical advisory services to agencies and stakeholders on physical planning matters.

He said it would also support enforcement operations against illegal and non-conforming developments across the state.

According to him, the department remains the professional and technical backbone of the ministry, providing multi-disciplinary support services involving planners, architects, engineers, builders, surveyors and other allied professionals.

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By Joy Oyerinde and Lydia Chigozie-Ngwakwe