The federal government has ordered the immediate suspension of all land allocations and reclamation activities along the Lagos Lagoon shoreline. This is in its bid to streamline shoreline development processes and ensure compliance with approved urban plans.
The suspension order, which is said to be among sweeping reforms the government, as Businessday reported, was adopted to restore order and curb environmental degradation along the nation’s coastline, includes Banana Island—an exclusive, highbrow island community built on reclaimed land from the Lagos lagoon.
A statement from the federal ministry of housing and urban development explains that the suspension order followed a directive from President Bola Tinubu, who mandated the ministry to streamline shoreline development processes and ensure compliance with approved urban plans.
The statement reveals that Ahmed Dangiwa, the minister of housing and urban development, has constituted a Joint Technical Inter-Ministerial Committee (JTMC) to review, examine, and harmonise all approvals and developments along the shoreline.
The committee is also to ensure proper documentation, eliminate abuse, and align all activities with the federal government’s urban development goals.
According to the statement, all existing approvals issued by the ministry for the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) must henceforth be submitted to the Federal Controller of Housing in Lagos for verification and record-keeping
“All ongoing applications or attempts by allottees to extend land into the lagoon, particularly on Banana Island, must stop immediately,” the statement warns, pointing out that the measure aims to preserve the original design and layout of the highbrow area, while ensuring sustainable environmental practices.
On the proper documentation and elimination of abuse, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 16 May 2025, wrote a letter to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development about its “Investigation of Activities and Developments in the Lagos Shoreline”, showing names of companies and their allocations being investigated. Some of these are Walaris Nigeria Limited, 572.735 hectares on the Lagos Lagoon shoreline; Tarba Nig Ltd, 5 and another 55. hectares on the same shoreline. Read the EFCC letter below for other companies’ names:
EFCC wanted the Ministry to furnish it with necessary documents pertaining the allocations. See page 2 of the document:
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