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Tag: LASURA

  • Lagos appoints Oladimeji as LASURA GM

    Lagos appoints Oladimeji as LASURA GM

    Lagos State Government has appointed Tpl. Esv Animashaun  Oladimeji as the new General Manager of Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA), the appointment takes effect from Monday 6th May, 2024.

    Before the recent appointment, Tpl Esv Animashaun Oladimeji Ayinde Saheed was a Director (Head),  Development Matters Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning.

    The new General Manager has since assumed duty.

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    He was accompanied by the Special Adviser E-GIS, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, and  were received by the entire members of staff of the agency.

    In a statement signed by Adedeji Akolade, Head Public Affairs, LASURA, while introducing the new General Manager of LASURA to the staff, the Special Adviser, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, whose office supervises the agency, expressed the hope of a new era under the leadership of Tpl. Esv Animashaun as the new head of the agency.

  • Lagos, urban regeneration and the LASURA story

    Lagos, urban regeneration and the LASURA story

    • By Tayo Ogunbiyi

    Lagos is a paradox in many aspects. It is the state with the smallest land mass in the country; yet it has the highest population.  Over the years, its growth has been phenomenal, both demographically and spatially.

    From a population of about 25,000 in 1866, Lagos reached 665,000 by 1963. It became over 10 million in 1995, thus attaining the status of a mega-city by the United Nations’ (UN) definition.  The state is currently estimated to be the fifth largest city in the world.

    At a growth rate of about 11% per annum, three times that of the entire country, Lagos is without doubt Nigeria’s most populous city.

    The state occupies about 3,577km2 with about 787km2(22%) covered by lagoons and water bodies. With a population of over 22 million people, Lagos is today categorized as the world’s fastest growing city.

    With a projected population of about 30 million, according to the United Nations’ conjecture, the city-state is likely to be the third most populated city in the world by 2030.   

    The state’s exponential growth has serious implications on its urban space, resulting in several challenges of abuse and misuse.

    This has manifested in the form of the deterioration of the quality of life, pressure on basic facilities, prevalence of urban poverty, rise of slums, unemployment and flash flooding among others.

    To compound its geographical lop-sidedness, almost half of Lagos’ limited landmass is covered with water, which makes land a very scarce and highly coveted commodity.

    Its huge population and limited landmass have brought a huge pressure on the state, as its sheer human population puts serious pressure on her infrastructure. For instance, the number of articulated vehicles that ply Lagos roads on a daily basis is more than those that ply roads across the country in a month.

    This is aside from the number of pupils and students from other states that attend Lagos public schools in addition to patients that visit its hospitals on a regular basis. Consequently, the state spends more on infrastructural upgrading and provision of other basic life necessities than any state in the country.

    Aside from the pressure on infrastructure, the growing Lagos population equally complicates urban development. In an attempt to live in Lagos at all cost, in view of its several fascinating offers, many people flagrantly flout building codes to live in disorganized settlements that make nonsense of the state’s urban planning.

    Before long, most of these settlements become slums that constitute serious socio-economic threats to the state.

    This, of course, is where urban renewal comes in. Happily, the state has an agency that was specifically established to address urban renewal issues in the state.

    The history and evolution of the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA) can be traced to the creation of Lagos Executive Development Board (LEDB).

    It was the first Town Planning Authority in Nigeria to be established under the Lagos Town Ordinance Cap 95 of 1928.

    That ordinance empowers LEDB to undertake comprehensive land use planning and development of the then Federal Territory (as Lagos was known then) due to the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in 1924.

    The plague’s outbreak was a watershed in the history of Lagos. The epidemic, which began in 1924 and lasted until 1931, left 1,813 fatalities.

    As a result of the fallout of the plague, the LEDB cleared the slums in Central Lagos and resettled the affected people to parts of Ebute-Metta and Yaba between 1928 and 1945.

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    However, on April 1, 1972, the board was phased out and its function of housing development transferred to the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), while its town planning function was given to the then Ministry of Works.

    In 1982, the State Regional Plan came into effect and had a validity period of up to 2000. In the same year, the State Metropolitan Master Plan recommended urgent upgrading or total redevelopment of 42 identified blighted communities.

    Not much was achieved with these arrangements until 1985 when the Urban Renewal Division was created in the then Ministry of the Environment and Physical Planning.

    In 1991, the Lagos State Urban Renewal Board was established by the Lagos State Urban Renewal Board Edict No. 7 of 1991 and published in Gazette No. 42 Vol. 24 of October 10, 1991.

    The pioneer board was inaugurated on November 12, 1991 with an office at the premises of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA). It had a branch office at STRABAG, Ikeja (the presentation location of Ikeja Shopping Mall) as well as an Area Office at Oluwole Street, Lagos Island in 1990.

    The board was moved from STRABAG to Birrel Avenue Yaba in 1994/1995. In 2002, it was relocated to its present location, Off Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja. 

    The Urban Renewal Board embarked on several development schemes across the state. Some of the schemes include Olaleye / Iponri, Otto, Sari/Iganmu and Lagos Central Redevelopment Scheme. The scheme was subdivided into 13 sub-areas.

    This includes Sub- Areas 1-4, bounded by Balogun Street, Fred McEwen Street, Martin Street, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Broad Streets all in Lagos Island.

    There is also Sub-Area 5, bounded by Martins Street, Alli Balogun, Nnamdi Azikiwe Street and Breadfruit Street also in Lagos Island.

     Also included are Sub- Areas 6 and, which are bounded by Tinubu Square, Alli Street, Palm Church Street, Agarawu Street, and Nnamdi Azikiwe Street. All of these are also in Lagos Island

    Sub-Area 8 is bounded by Martins Street, Ereko Street, Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, and Alli Balogun Street also in Lagos Island.

    Sub-Areas 9 and 10 are bounded by Fred McEwen, Martins, and Ereko Streets as well as Sanusi Olusi Street, Balogun Street, and John Street.  All of these are also located in Lagos Island.

    Sub- Areas 11 and 12 are bounded by Pedro Street, Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Idumota Cenotaph and Ereko Street as well as   Idewu-Olo and Isale-Agbede Streets.

    The Sub-Area 13 are bounded by Isale-Gangan Street, Princess Street, Adeniji Adele Road, Enu-Owa Street, Dosunmu Street, Idumagbo Avenue, and Palm Church Street; all in Lagos Island.

    Over the years, LASURA has undertaken several regeneration projects aimed at frontally addressing turning slums into urban and habitable hubs. One of such is the redevelopment of Oluwa Sub-Area 5, Central Lagos, whose major component comprised 2000 Units Kee-Klamps and 2000 Multi-Level Car Parking.

    Another notable one is the redevelopment of Balogun Market Central Lagos, which comprises 1000 Units Kee-Klamps and 210 Shops.

    There is also the Olaleye Iponri slum upgrading, which includes 24 Maisonettes Units, water of life (Private sector Partnership at Badia) as well as the provision of service plots.

    Another major urban renewal project that has been embarked upon in the past is the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP) World Bank assisted). It involved the upgrading of blighted communities at Agege, Ijeshatedo, Ajegunle, Itire, Amukoko, Ilaje, Badia and Makoko

    The Lagos Island Revitalization project, which includes infrastructure upgrade, mixed development and property reliability is also worth mentioning.

    Similarly, the Isale-Gangan regeneration exercise in Lagos Island, a land pooling regeneration strategy, represents another audacious urban renewal initiative that has been embarked upon. For the project to become a reality, 13 families pooled and relinquished their land and properties for redevelopment.

    The project is a block of 11-floor residential apartments designed to accommodate 56 Units of two bedroom-flat and three-bedroom flats on a total land area of 2500 square meters.

    The phase 11 of the Isale-Gangan project will hopefully see the light of the day soon, barring all odds.

    LASURA has also provided a resettlement programme in which four families opted out and they collected two years rent from the government to seek accommodation elsewhere.

    Each of the thirteen families was paid a relocation allowance, while 90 tenants residing in the buildings were paid a year’s rent of their accommodation at the prevailing market rate as at 2010 as relocation allowance.

    There are also the Ogba Scheme, Agege facelift pilot project and Amuwo conservation project.

    From 2019 till date, LASURA has done so much in its renewed quest for urban regeneration.

    •Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.  

  • LASURA partners NGO on slum redevelopment

    In accordance with her plan to reduce the blighted areas in the state at five percent yearly, Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA) has collaborated with Justice and Empowerment Initiative (JEI), a non-governmental Organisation, to rid the state of challenges facing slum dwellers in the state.

    At a stakeholders meeting held in LASURA’s Ikeja office, the General Manager of the agency, Mr. Lateef Sholebo, stated that his agency’s plan of five percent annual reduction of slums in the state is crucial for improving the living condition of slum dwellers for a sustainable environment. He assured that his agency would not relent in achieving that plan.

    He said the Orisumbare Community was one of the slums LASURA plans to intervene in by facilitating the improvement in their living condition. This is by way of upgrading and empowering the community through the provision of infrastructure such as roads, drainages, drinkable water and electricity, among others. He revealed that it was one of the reasons why officials of the agency conducted enumeration and profiling of the residents of Orisumbare, in partnership with JEI.

    According to Sholebo, the study made the agency to know the basic infrastructure needs of the community, which he said would be provided by the government before total redevelopment of the slum.

    He assured the residents of the community that they would be encouraged to participate in the process of achieving the goal of upgrading and future redevelopment of the slum, adding that his agency intended to partner with private investors, NGOs and  other stakeholders in achieving the goals and objectives.

    The General Secretary of Orisumbare Community Association, Mr. Owolabi Mudashiru, praised LASURA for showing concern for the community and pleaded with the state government to urgently intervene in the community by providing basic infrastructure like water, drainages, electricity and roads for a better living condition.

    The co- founder of JEI, Mr. Andrew Mavin, thanked Sholebo for giving his organisation the opportunity to partner with the agency. He solicited for more synergy between the two organisations for bringing improvement to the slum.

    Andrew said that it was good for his NGO to work with LASURA as partners in progress since it was the responsibility of government to ensure general welfare of the people and that encouraged his organisation to associate with the agency.

  • LASURA to develop 100 slums

    The lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA) has said it will develop 100 slum settlements across the state.

    Its General Manager Lateef Sholebo, who regretted that the existence of slums has become worrisome, said a more pragmatic method is needed to develop the slums.

    The method, according to him, would include exploring the theory of urban growth boundary; tax increment financing; private public partnership; and mixed income development.

    Sholebo, a city planner of over 25 years’ experience in the United States (US), explained the principle of urban growth boundary, as being done in the western world. To him, the principle entails earmarking certain locations for physical development for the residents within a delineated boundary.

    The exercise, he said, is to attractive investors, making property in those areas to appreciate in value.

    “For example, if what is accruable to government in terms of revenue before the redevelopment exercise of an area is about N50milion, the redevelopment could raise the accruable revenue to about N150 million as revenue to the government. This means more money to redevelop another location and maintaining the infrastructure,” he added.

    Sholebo said the agency would ensure that its programme is community-driven.

    “We will develop a plan for each affected locations, give the plan to the community where the residents would discuss the plan and offer suggestions,” he said.

     

  • Controversy trails N1.5 billion Lagos property

    Controversy trails N1.5 billion Lagos property

    The demolition of a N1.5 billion building in Lagos has become a subject of controversy. While the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) claims it did not order the demolition, the property owners believe it is an illegal move by a government agency to strip them of their property through the back door, reports MUYIWA LUCAS

    Who ordered the demolition of a N1.5 billion, five-storey building on 49 Martins Street, Lagos? This is the riddle that has remained unresolved. The building, located in the heart of the Central Business District on Lagos Island, is now a shadow of its old self.

    While Alhaji Fazazi Oluwole, Alhaja Hadikat Talabi, and the late Alhaja Taibat Shitta, (all siblings) claimed ownership of the property, supporting their claims with the Land Certificate (Deed of Conveyance) obtained in 1942 as proof. The Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA), has since emerged to claim the property. It is this new development that has now led to the demolition of the property.

    According to the spokespersons of the family, Mrs. Modinat Onimole and  Mrs. Mutiat Hassan, on October 17, 2014,  LASURA put up a sign post claiming ownership of the property. This, they said, came as a surprise to the family considering that no correspondence existed between the family and LASURA. Surprised by the notice, some family members met with officials of LASURA for clarification.

    “We showed them our proof of ownership to the property; after which they pretended that the matter was settled and we left,”Mrs Onimole said.

    However, unknown to the family, a bigger surprise was in the offing. On October 22,  the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) allegedly sealed the property. Both Mrs Onimole and Mrs Hassan, told The Nation that the family had neither received nor had any form of interaction with the agency, hence, they were shocked at the action.

    The family’s representatives met with the General Manager of LASBCA, Dr. Abimbola Animashaun on October 24,  to make enquiries on the incident. It was while with the LASBCA GM that they were notified of the presence of the agency’s officials at the property, who were alleged to have gone there to remove doors and windows of the building, thereby forcing the tenants to evacuate.

    Although Dr. Animashaun was said to have told the family that notices had been served the property owners and the occupants of the building, and also expressed knowledge of the on-going exercise of that day,  the family, according to their representatives, claimed not to have received any form of notification.

    “The GM of LASBCA claimed they had sent us notices earlier, but we didn’t get any of such. We then asked her to show us a copy of the notices sent, but she couldn’t show us,” Onimole explained.

    The LASBCA boss was said to have explained to the family that on a certain day while she was passing through the area, she had noticed a defect on the building, to be precise, a column in the foundation through which water was seeping out.

    This, The Nation gathered, necessitated the decision by LASBCA to conduct a stress test on the building. The test, she was alleged to have said, showed that the property was distressed, hence, requiring rehabilitation and not demolition. Obviously to show the agency’s sincerity on the structural integrity of the building, Animashaun was said to have told the family to conduct their own independent test if they doubted the authenticity of the one conducted by the agency.

    Onimole told The Nation that Animashaun was emphatic that the building only needed rehabilitation and not demolition, because “there is no demolition permit for the building since such permits must be signed by the  governor; as our duty is to prevent distress building.”

    However, an insight into an obvious reason for the non correspondence between the family and LASBCA manifested during the meeting, when, according to Hassan, the family was told by the LASBCA boss that the building belonged to LASURA.

    LASBCA’s position on the demolition seems to have been corroborated by the response received by the family from the governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola. Worried by the situation, Mrs Onimole said the family sent a text message to Fashola, intimating him of the incident and appealing for his intervention. In response to the family’s text, the governor, through the same means, replied “I have asked them to investigate; I am waiting to hear from them.”

    But the joy the governor’s assurances brought to the family was short-lived. This is because by the evening of October 24, unidentified people had gone to the building to start the demolition. This was after LASBCA officials had removed doors and windows in the building earlier in the day.

    Worried by the development, especially since LASBCA had said it was not demolishing the property, but only meant it to be rehabilitated, Onimole said the family reported at the Ebute-Ero police station. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at the station, Sina Olunlade, a Superintendent, in an apparent bid to prevent an outbreak of law and order, was said to have deployed his men to the property and effected their arrest. However, those arrested were later released since they could not be held beyond 24 hours by the police without the directive of a court of law.

    At a meeting between the family and Olunlade on October 25,  The Nation gathered that the DPO assured them that nobody will go near the property again until the outome of the family meeting with LASURA. However, with the matter now reported at the Police Area Command, Olunlade has had to step aside until he gets further directive from his superior officers.

    In a telephone chat with The Nation,  Olunlade explained that those arrested were labourers brought to work on the property, and had to be released  because they obviously knew nothing about the matter.

    Besides, he explained: “When government wants to carry out such exercise, the Police are usually informed so that adequate security can be provided, but in this case, we were not notified at all. Nobody notified the police, or even my division, of any demolition. But we had to do our job to prevent violence; that was why we moved in when we got the report.”

    He, however, added that after the restoration of order, his men had to back off after the Police Area Command took over the matter. Besides, he said the deployment of a large number of social miscreants “area boys”, he had to caution his men on tactics to deploy in the situation so as to avoid violence. “You know that land or property matter is a civil matter, so we have to be careful so as not to breach public peace. However, once my superior officers give me further directives, I can assure you that my men will act accordingly,” Olunlade said.

    Mrs Onimole and Mrs Hassan said the model deployed for the demolition of the property clearly makes them believe that it was not ordered or sanctioned by the government. The duo explained that given the peculiar location of the property and the advancement in the state, demolition of properties are usually controlled to ensure that such exercises do not pose danger to other citizens.

    Besides, they  argued that the manner of the demolition raised a lot of curiosity. In their reasoning, they both submitted that government officials on legal duty would not come in the night to carry out such exercise on weekends, and then stop on working days, only to resume on another weekend. Also, the equipment used in the exercise, Onimole insisted, clearly showed that it was an illegal demolition by some unscrupulous persons.

    For now, the family said they have taken legitimate steps to address the situation by sending petitions to the state governor and other officials, including the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 Command, in the hope that the situation will be addressed.

    Several efforts to speak with LASBCA and LASURA  proved abortive. Also, no clarification came from LASBCA’s media consultants when contacted. For now, the issue remains unsolved.

  • GMS for Lagos planning agencies

    Lagos State Government has appointed Messers Rotimi Toyin Abdul and Mr Kehinde Benedict Olawunmi as the General Managers of Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) and Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority (LASURA).

    Abdul until this appointment , according to a statement, was the Director, Transportation Policy and Co-ordination Department, Lagos Ministry of Transportation. He is a member of the American Planning Association, Nigeria Institute of Shipping, Nigeria Institute of Town Planners, Institute of Transportation Engineers and Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria.

    He attended the Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo between 1966 and 1970 for his secondary education before proceeding to Yaba College of Technology, Lagos for his National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma in Town Planning.
    He thereafter proceeded to University of the District of Columbia, Washington D.C, United States for his Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme in Urban and Community Planning and later Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, where he bagged a Master Degree in Transportation Planning in 2003.

    He joined the service of Lagos State Government on 6th March, 1978 and rose to the post of full Director Grade Level 17 in 2007.

    Abdul since employment has worked in virtually all Urban Planning departments and agencies of the state, some of which include: Deputy Director, Ministry of Transportation (2003 to 2007) etc