….Inaugurates Appeals Committee to review complains on approvals, demolition notice

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday said that the state government is committed to fairness, transparency, and accountability in the administration of planning laws, maintaining that no more arbitrariness in planning approval.

Speaking on Tuesday at the inauguration of the Lagos State Physical Planning and Building Control Appeals Committee, Sanwo-Olu observed that every day, developers, property owners, architects, engineers, and other construction professionals navigate the planning approvals and regulatory decisions that shape how this state grows.

Noting that a government that regulates without providing for review is a government that has placed itself beyond accountability, he noted that: “For the most part, that process works. But no system administered by human beings is infallible, and where decisions can be wrong, there must also be a pathway for redress.

“Today, Section 79 of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law moves from text on a page into a living institution. That institution is this Committee. And with this inauguration, we make a clear structural commitment to fairness, transparency, and accountability in the administration of our planning laws.

“The physical planning system in Lagos operates through two key regulatory agencies: the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, responsible for granting and regulating development permits; and the Lagos State Building Control Agency, responsible for monitoring construction activities and enforcing compliance with safety standards.

These agencies discharge essential and often difficult responsibilities, and they do so under real pressure in one of the world’s most demanding urban environments.

“But no regulatory system, however well-intentioned, can be immune from error. Planning decisions involve complex judgements, on land use, density, setbacks, structural safety, change of use, and demolition. These decisions affect people’s investments, livelihoods, and communities.

“It is therefore, right and necessary, to have an independent body to which any aggrieved developer, professional, property owner, or institution may turn when they believe a decision has been made unfairly, incorrectly, or without due regard to their rights.

“That body is this Committee. Under Section 82 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, this Appeals Committee has the statutory authority to investigate and decide on matters relating to planning permit applications, development plans and layouts,

Changes of use, approvals-in-principle, demolition orders, the conduct of planning and building control officials, and the service of regulatory notices. It may call for documents, summon witnesses, and consult the full body of physical planning law and regulations in the state. Its orders are binding, the law requires that relevant agencies enforce them, just as they would enforce orders of the High Court.

“This is a significant mandate. I want the members of this Committee, and the public, to understand what this means in practice. If a developer submits a permit application and believes the refusal was unjustified, there is now a formal, independent forum for review. If a property owner receives a demolition notice and disputes its basis, they have 28 days in which to appeal and have that decision examined.

“If a building professional believes a regulatory officer acted improperly, this Committee is empowered to investigate that conduct. These are not trivial powers; they are the mechanisms through which public confidence in our planning system is either built or eroded.

“I am also conscious that the building safety challenge in Lagos is real and serious. The incidents of building collapse that have claimed lives in our state and others across Nigeria are a reminder that the purpose of building regulation is not bureaucratic formality; it is the preservation of human life.

“This Appeals Committee must therefore operate with a clear understanding of that context. The right to appeal a regulatory decision is a fundamental protection, but it is not a mechanism to circumvent safety. When the evidence supports the regulatory action of an agency, this Committee must say so clearly and firmly.”