The Federal Government has announced the immediate revocation of all previously granted development approvals within key national setback zones, including coastal roads, federal highways, shorelines, and areas along the Lagos Lagoon corridor.
This decision marks the beginning of a renewed push to enforce development control regulations aimed at safeguarding the nation’s ecological and infrastructural assets.
The directive, issued on the orders of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, mandates the halt of all unauthorised constructions in these strategic zones.
Surveyor General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adebomehin, disclosed that the enforcement policy affects all prior planning permissions, which are now rendered void unless revalidated by the appropriate federal authorities.
As part of the implementation process, state governments have been instructed to suspend the issuance of any new development approvals within the specified corridors unless such plans are jointly approved by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation.
To ensure proper oversight, all approvals granted on or before July 2, 2025, must be submitted to the Office of the Surveyor General for verification, harmonisation, and compilation. Any approvals not submitted or those issued after September 30, 2025, will be declared invalid.
The government also ordered an immediate stop to all unauthorised land reclamation and sand-filling activities, including the construction of artificial islands, warning that such developments pose environmental and infrastructural risks.
Adebomehin stressed that these actions will no longer be tolerated under the new enforcement regime.
The initiative, according to the Surveyor General, is designed to protect critical infrastructure, ensure environmental sustainability, and promote orderly urban development.
He emphasised that no State or Local Government authority is permitted to approve projects in these zones without federal oversight going forward.
Mechanisms are currently being put in place to monitor and regulate development along Nigeria’s shorelines and ecological corridors more effectively.
The enforcement is legally grounded in several statutes, 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 under the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The move signals a major shift in Nigeria’s approach to urban planning and environmental regulation, with the federal government taking the lead in controlling encroachment on ecologically sensitive and federally-owned lands.
