The Lagos State government has issued a suspension order on all planned land extensions into the Lagoon at Banana Island and Osborne Foreshore, Ikoyi.
The state government, in a statement on Sunday stated that it had noticed the increasing and continuing degradation of the Lagos shoreline as a result of indiscriminate illegal dredging, reclamation and land extensions into the Lagos Lagoon.
The statement was signed by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Idris Salako and his counterpart in the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Kabiru Abdullahi.
The commissioners said the indiscriminate illegal proliferation of dredging and reclamation practices had brought about serious distortion in the aesthetics of the shoreline.
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According to them, these practices can cause environmental degradation, which is capable of producing dire consequences if unchecked.
They added that such land reclamation and extension activities had resulted in gross violations of the physical planning laws of the state and affecting the ecosystem of the entire area.
The statement said, “Of particular concern to the state government are the extensions being illegally carried out at Banana Island and Osborne Foreshore, Ikoyi.”
“Government hereby suspends all existing, pending and subsequent approvals in respect of all land extensions into the Lagoon at Banana Island and Osborne Foreshore, Ikoyi.”
The State Government also ordered the immediate cessation of all ongoing works, constructions, reclamations and other similar activities on account of extension approvals granted or being processed at Banana Island and Osborne Foreshore, Ikoyi.
It said failure to comply with the order would lead to criminal charges and the confiscation of dredging equipment by the government.
