Demolished Buildings Were Hurriedly Built During COVID-19 – Lagos Commissioner

According to the Lagos State Government, buildings that have been demolished in the state were constructed in a hurry during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and were not authorised by any of its authorities.

During a Channels TV interview on Wednesday, November 29, Oluyinka Olumide, the state’s commissioner for physical planning and urban development, disclosed this information.

He urged the owners of the destroyed buildings in the state’s other neighbourhoods, including Ladipo Market, Abule Ado, Ikota, Lekki, Alaba, and Ajao Estate, to come out and present their building permits.

“We will not demolish any approved building, that’s for sure. So, if there is anybody that has claims that their buildings were approved and demolished, let them come forward,” Olumide said.

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The official emphasised that any illegal structures on the drainage system would be demolished and stated that the structures had never received approval from any government agency with such authority.

“Buildings not done within the confines of the law are subject to demolition” Olumide noted.

The commissioner refuted allegations made in some quarters that the state government has been specifically targeting homeowners who reside in the South-East geopolitical zone.

“Anybody can own a building in Lagos so long as you go with the laid-down rules. It’s unfortunate that maybe what we have of recently happen to concern those from certain parts of the country. Those buildings causing this uproar are buildings rushed during the COVID period when activities of enforcement officers were at a low ebb because of restriction of movement and you could see that when those buildings were demolished, nobody has come forward to say they were demolished under approval.” he said.

The commissioner assured residents of the state that the government wouldn’t demolish any approval structure.