By Omobolaji Adekunle, Abeokuta

Ogun State Government has stated that it would not hesitate to demolish any illegal structure encroaching government land with particular reference to illegal structures springing up at the Agro-Cargo Airport corridor in the state.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, TPl Olatunji Odunlami, who stated this in a chat with journalists in Abeokuta, lamented the activities of encroachers, who he said have taken over most land acquired by the government in the interest of the public.

He expressed concern with the way illegal structures were springing up in the Agro-Cargo Airport corridor, adding that all structures in the area that contravened government regulation would be pulled down.

According to him, several contravention notices served the encroachers in the area were ignored, and the government has no other option than to demolish such structures.

“The Agro-Cargo Airport, which is set to commence scheduled flights soon, is a legacy project of this administration that is already attracting foreign partners to invest in the State. Such investment will generate employment opportunities that will impact positively on the development of the area, and bring visibility to the State,” Odunlami noted.

The Commissioner further stated that the government would not stand by and allow the activities of some people to negate international standards on situating airports and other public facilities, as the closeness of such structures to the airport posed a threat to the quality of lives of the inhabitants of such buildings.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, advised the public to approach relevant government agencies before committing their resources into lands and projects that might not align with the overall goal of government, affirming that government is a continuum and acquired lands would be developed in the course of time.

“When the Airport becomes fully operational, the noise from the aeroplanes alone can lead to health hazards for those living near it, and this is only one of the several challenges poised from living in such an area. Ogun State will continue to follow international aviation standards for citing of airports, even as it works to protect the welfare of its people,” the Special Adviser noted.

By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke will flag off the dualisation of Ilesa Akure expressway junction – Brewery – Ereja/Palace Square, Ilesa on Tuesday, 30th April.

Also, the flag off of the construction of Lagere Junction flyover, Ile Ife will be done by the Governor as part of the infrastructure plan of his administration.

This was contained in a statement signed by governor’s spokesperson Olawale Rasheed.

The statement read in part, “The full details of the projects including the length of the road, cost and duration of the construction will be disclosed by the Governor at the venue of the flag off.

“Making the flag off announcement earlier today, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration, Dr. B.T. Salam assured the people of Ijesaland and Ile Ife that the infrastructure plan of the current administration under Governor Adeleke is all inclusive and will touch every region in the state.

“The flag off of the Ilesa Akure expressway Junction – Brewery – Ereja/Palace Square dualisation will be performed by Mr Governor before the commencement of IPADE Imole on Tuesday. In addition, the Lagere junction flyover will be flagged off for the commencement of the project.

“Our infrastructure plan is progressing well. We are confident that we will implement all the projects as planned across all the zones in the state,” Mr. Salam added.

Meanwhile, preparation is in top gear for the successful hosting of the second edition of Ipade Imole, a citizen engagement session with Governor Adeleke, to be held at Oba Adekunle Aromolaran Civic Centre, Ilesa on Tuesday 30th April, 2024.

The invitation has been extended to relevant stakeholders and citizens of the state to join Mr Governor and members of the State Executive Council for the second edition of this programme.

The Lagos State Government, through the Office of Urban Development and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has vowed to remove buildings erected without government approval.

This is as the agency also revealed that it has finalised plans to synergise operations with the private sector in the built industry for better service delivery.

The synergy which is to be christened “Accredited Certifiers Program” is aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state.

Disclosing this at the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) headquarter in Ikeja, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Electronic Geographical Information System(e-GIS) and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde said that the recommendation of Accredited Certifiers Programme emanated from the Government White Paper on the report of the Lagos State tribunal of the building collapse on 44 (B, C, D), Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos which calls for a more robust public private sector synergy that will help boost enforcement exercise in terms of monitoring and inspection of all on-going building constructions in the State.

According to Dr. Babatunde, the main reason for the partnership which has been in the pipeline since 2021 is basically for zero tolerance to building collapses in the State through robust monitoring and inspection of all on-going constructions in the State as the government cannot do the job alone.

He stated,  “The synergy with the private sectors as recommended by the White Paper report will enhance a better services delivery in some specifics aspects such as monitoring of the built environment, screening of drawings and inspection of projects above 6 floors and complementary roles for stage certification of projects above 6 floors, an initiative that will make the building process seamless and more effective.”

He noted that Lagos is blessed with large numbers of professionals in the built environment who are ready to bring in their expertise and capacity to ensure that buildings in the state are constructed to meet international standards.

Dr. Olajide also emphasised that for seamless take-off of the Accredited Certifiers Programme to be achieved, various orientation workshops will be organised for successful Consortium and individual professionals that met the criteria of becoming an Accredited Certifiers.

The Permanent Secretary, Office of Urban Development, Engr. Shodeinde Nurudeen on his own part stated that, LASBCA is the sole enforcer of any form of building development in the State and in order to reduce or eliminate the multiplicity of enforcement agents in the built industry, other State Agencies and Parastatals must interface between LASBCA.

“LASBCA is a ‘One Stop Shop’ for all other Agencies/Parastatals of the State Government involved in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state  and in order to reduce the people’s misconception of multiple inspections, everybody will be allowed to perform their core responsibilities but LASBCA will be the sole enforcer,” he stated.

Speaking earlier to journalists in his office, the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki disclosed that the agency will not condone illegal construction of buildings in any part of the state as the agency is fully ready to remove all buildings constructed without the requisite permit.

Oki was reacting to the distortion of the master plans of some part of the state by people who he describe as “omo onile” with their indiscriminate sales of lands earmarked by the Government for roads, drainages and other purposes of public interest to unsuspecting members of the public.

He noted that the government will not hesitate to remove buildings constructed on such lands earmarked for public interest as ignorance of the law is no excuse. He advised developers and land owners to always crosscheck titles of property they seek to purchase with the state land registry before finalising the purchase agreements.