The Lagos State government has defended the demolition of buildings in the Ajao Estate area of the state, stating that the affected structures posed a severe threat to the safety of Lagosians and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki, explained that 12 buildings in the area were marked for demolition due to non-compliance with the state’s laws regulating building construction.
According to Oki, the affected structures were built by their owners on pipelines that transport aviation fuel to the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Ikeja, without obtaining the required construction approvals from the Federal Government through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the state government. He also noted that the buildings were erected in close proximity to airport restricted areas.
The buildings that were demolished on I.K. Peter Street, Ajao Estate, were discovered to have been constructed by their owners encroaching on airport restricted areas. The state government clarified that the builders lacked required documents, planning permits, and approvals for construction in that area.
Oki stressed that the situation posed a national risk to the airport, and the disaster that could occur from it could claim dozens of lives and properties in the state. He added that due consultations and communications had been made with enough time of over eight years, 2016, given to the occupants of the affected buildings to evacuate the structures.
The General Manager of Business Development, FAAN, Hycienth Ngwu, commended the Lagos State government for stepping into the issue after several warnings were ignored by the encroachers, who stole from the land of the airport. Ngwu lamented that the authorities of the airport began serving notice of encroachment on its land in 2016 on occupiers for defying the standard rule that no building must be cited close to the perimeter fence of the airport.
The state government reiterated that it would continue to enforce its laws and regulations to ensure the safety of Lagosians and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The demolition exercise would continue until all illegal structures in the area have been removed