The commissioner for physical planning and urban development in Lagos, Oluyinka Olumide, says 80 percent of buildings in the Ibeju Lekki-Epe corridor have no government approval.

The Lagos government has been facing backlash for the demolition of buildings and shanties across the state.

Tokunbo Wahab, commissioner for environment in Lagos, has repeatedly said the demolished structures were erected in contravention of the city’s masterplan, were never approved by the relevant agencies, and occluded drainage channels.

In an interview with journalists, Olumide said despite the rigorous procedures involved in securing government approval, property developers and owners are still circumventing due process.

“Just last Thursday and Friday, my team and I were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked,” he said.

“We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 percent of them do not have approval.

“The procedure to get approval is first to get the planning information, as to what those areas have been zoned for. In this case, what we have is agricultural land, and people now go to their families to buy agricultural land.

“Of course, those lands would be sold because those families do not know the use such land would be put to.

“The next thing to do is the fence permit. If you missed the earlier information on not knowing the area zoning, at the point of getting the fence permit, you would be able to detect what the area is zoned for. After that, the layout permits a large expanse of land.

“So, you can see all these layers. But people still go ahead to start advertising. Some have even gone to the extent of displaying the sizes they want to sell. Imagine someone in the diaspora who wants to send money without any knowledge.

“Then, no approval is eventually gotten. Even if they pass the assignment and the survey to them, we would not grant the individual permit, because that area is not zoned for that purpose.”

On Sunday, Wahab said owners of recently demolished property in Maryland had been served notices since 2021.

“We are not just doing demolitions. The law allows us to remove encumbrances on the right of way of the drainage channels,” Wahab said.

Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, showered glowing tributes on the late ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua 14 years after his passing.

Yar’Adua was Katsina State’s governor in Nigeria’s North-West geopolitical zone from May 1999 to May 2007. He won the 2007 presidential election and was sworn in to succeed his partyman, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Yar’Adua was Nigeria’s President from May 2007 to May 2010 when he died of an undisclosed illness at 58. Following his death, his deputy and ex-Bayelsa State governor Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as President.

Fourteen years after his passing, friends and political associates of the late Katsina-born politician reminisced about the impact and legacy of the late President.

Aminu Tambuwal, a former Governor of Sokoto State who currently represents Sokoto South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, described the late Yar’Adua as a “true democrat”.

“The late President Yar’Adua was a man of strong character who deeply respected the rule of law. He was a patriot who believed in institutionalizing democracy and, more importantly, in the unity of Nigeria,” he wrote on X.

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki said, “Today, I remember what he stood for and how he worked towards it. I remember his focus on building strong institutions—so that the very DNA of our democracy would be founded on laws and best practices, not on the whims of men.”

A former Senator who represented Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, said the late President “lived a simple life and made life easier and better for the downtrodden in the country”.

The late President’s brother and Senator representing Katsina Central in the National Assembly, Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, said his late sibling was “an exceptional leader and an icon of democracy”.

Former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, said, “Though his tenure was cut tragically short, Yar’Adua’s commitment to upholding the rule of law, fighting corruption, and fostering dialogue across all regions left an enduring legacy. ”

The Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, convened a prayer day in honour of the memory of the late President, the governor’s aide, Isah Miqdad, said on X.

1. Normalcy is gradually returning to the supply and distribution chain of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol, after the scarcity of the product in the last three weeks. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) blamed the development on “logistics” issues. The return of normalcy was not unconnected with the opening up of reserves by the NNPCL for supply to the marketers.

2. The statewide exercise to free Lagos of visible security risks has continued after the arrest of some suspects under the Dolphin Estate Bridge. A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said 450 miscreants were rescued at the weekend.

3. Vice President Kashim Shettima departed Abuja on Sunday for Dallas, United States (U.S.). He will represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 U.S.-Africa Business Summit to be hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.

4. Beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N50,000 grant for nano business owners have started receiving credit alerts. Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, who confirmed this at the weekend, said no fewer than 200,000 small business owners have received the payment.

5. The Department of State Services, DSS, has sealed AL-Ihsan Clinic in the Unguwan Rogo community in Jos North LGA of Plateau State due to allegations of quackery and the reported death of a female patient. It was learnt that the death of the woman last week following a surgery performed by one Mr Abdul Lukman sparked reactions in the area, with many attributing the death to the surgery, which subsequently raised concerns about Abdul’s medical speciality.

6. The value of Nigeria’s currency in circulation has risen to N3.87tn at the end of March. According to the latest money and credit statistics on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the currency in circulation was N3.87tn, higher than N3.69tn in February and N3.65tn in January.

7. Residents of Mende Estate Villa in the Maryland area of Lagos State have decried the recent demolition of their multimillion naira houses in the area by the Lagos State Government while seeking compensation for a new shelter. It was gathered that the estate’s homes were destroyed in the last demolition exercise.

8. Two suspects are in the custody of the Edo State Police Command in connection with the disappearance and death of a 200-level undergraduate of Delta State University of Science and Technology, Agbor, Miss Faith Omodon.

9. Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted 511 jumbo sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 4,752kg concealed in the gas tank compartment of a truck along the Abuja-Abaji highway. The agency in a statement on Sunday said the operatives on a stop-and-search operation along the highway on Wednesday, May 1, intercepted the 40-ft gas tanker marked RBC 77XG and upon a thorough search discovered the sacks.

10. Another Improvised Explosive Device, IED, planted along Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru Ngala road has killed seven people, including a telecommunication expert, Mallam Abbashuwa Bulamarwa. The incident took place, weekend, when their vehicles drove on the planted IED in-between Dikwa and Logomani village, about 80kms drive from Maiduguri.