The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) has strengthened its Monitoring and Compliance Unit by increasing its staff strength and putting in place additional strategies in place to widen the coverage of enforcement activities towards the delivery of its statutory duties.
The General Manager of LASPPPA, Tpl. Kehinde Osinaike, made this known at a review meeting with the management and staff of the Enforcement Unit, held at its Head Office on Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja.
Tpl. Osinaike said that the deployment of additional manpower to the Unit was devised to seamlessly cover the entire metropolis and prevail on recalcitrant members of the public, who flout relevant laws, to desist from such acts.
In his words: “We have realised that we should not only tell people to do the right things but compel them to do the right things to safeguard their lives and economic well-being, through effective monitoring”.
“It is in this vein that we have expanded and subdivided the daily enforcement team into groups so they can work simultaneously and ultimately increase their coverage of enforcement on physical structures in Lagos State”, he added.
Osinaike averred that the Authority has also created zonal offices across the State to receive petitions and attend to inquiries, thereby creating more avenues for prompt attention to complaints from members of the public on physical planning issues.
Informing that efforts are being made to have enforcement units in the five zones to enhance the monitoring and enforcement activities of the district offices under each zone, the General Manager revealed that the Agency plans to ensure that every structure in Lagos State undergoes an assessment in compliance with Physical Planning Permit Laws.
Tpl. Osinaike said: “As a test run on these strategies, the Enforcement Team of LASPPPA during its Monitoring and Enforcement Activities to ensure compliance to Physical Planning Permit Laws, last week visited Eti-Osa North and South, Ifako-Ijaiye, Somolu and Ejigbo areas of the State”.
“The visit revealed that owners of most property previously sealed for contravening Physical Planning Permit Laws had broken the seals despite non-compliance with directives issued in the contravention notices served for converting residential to commercial buildings without due recourse to the processes guiding such conversions, among others”, he stated.
The General Manager advised all property owners and developers, whose buildings were sealed, to visit LASPPPA Head Office at Oba Akinjobi Way, Opposite Soho Filling station GRA, Ikeja, or any of LASPPPA District Offices closest to them with relevant documents for necessary action. Tpl. Osinaike also enjoined the general public to whistleblow on illegal and defective structures in their locality, guaranteeing that their identities would be kept confidential.