•Tinubu
The federal government has revoked all prior approvals granted for developments within national corridors and ecological zones setbacks, as it begins strict enforcement of development control regulations along federal highways, coastal roads, shorelines, and the Lagos Lagoon corridor.
This followed the directive issued by President Bola Tinubu, mandating the immediate halt of unauthorised developments in these areas, according to the Surveyor General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adebomehin.
He said the enforcement applies to all affected zones and nullifies all previously granted planning approvals, reports The Nation.
According to him, state governments have been expressly directed to suspend further planning approvals within the designated corridors unless done in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation.
To ensure compliance, Adebomehin stated that all development approvals granted on or before July 2, 2025, must be submitted to the Office of the Surveyor General for verification, harmonisation, and compilation.
Approvals not submitted, or those issued after September 30, 2025, will be deemed invalid, he warned.
He also ordered the immediate cessation of all ongoing unauthorised reclamation works, stressing that the indiscriminate creation of artificial islands and unapproved sand-filling activities would no longer be tolerated.
Adebomehin explained that the move is intended to protect critical infrastructure, safeguard the environment, and promote coordinated urban development.
He noted that the enforcement covers federal highways, shorelines, coastal roads, and areas on and along the Lagos Lagoon.
Any further encroachment without federal approval, he warned, will be considered illegal.
Going forward, he stressed, no state or local authority should independently approve projects within the affected setback zones without federal collaboration.
To ensure effective monitoring and regulation, he added that mechanisms are being put in place to coordinate infrastructure development along Nigeria’s shorelines and ecological zones.
The directive, he said, is backed by existing legal provisions, including Section 1 (1), (2), and (3) of the Federal Highways Act and Sections 1 and 2 of the Lands (Title Vesting, Etc.) Act, both of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, as well as other relevant legal instruments.
