The Lagos State Government has advised the management and occupants of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex to immediately utilise the re-introduced Planning Permit Amnesty Programme to regularize unapproved and illegal structures within the complex.
The advice was given by the State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, and is part of the government’s sustained efforts to enforce planning regulations and ensure public safety across the state.
Context of the Advice and Amnesty Programme
1. Enforcement Against Illegal Structures
The Trade Fair Complex, despite being federally managed, is subject to Lagos State’s physical planning laws. The state government has recently carried out extensive demolition exercises against structures it deemed unapproved, structurally defective, or built on setbacks and drainage alignments.
The government has consistently stressed that the complex had become overcrowded with haphazard and unsafe structures, posing significant risks to public safety and emergency response.
2. Purpose of the Amnesty
The Planning Permit Amnesty Programme is a scheme re-introduced by the Lagos State Government to give property owners an opportunity to formalize structures built without the necessary approvals.
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It allows owners of existing, unapproved buildings to regularize their structures with the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
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The primary benefit is that applicants can complete the regularization process without incurring the statutory penalties normally associated with building without a permit.
3. Legal and Compliance Requirements
The government insists that all physical developments in Lagos State—including those on federal lands like the Trade Fair Complex—must obtain a valid planning permit from the Lagos State Government. The advice is a final plea to the management and developers to use the current amnesty window to comply with the law, thereby avoiding further sealing or demolition of non-compliant properties.
