The Federal Government has put a stop to all approved, pending, and planned land allocations, as well as Certificates of Occupancy (C of O), on islands and lagoons.
Authorities have instructed that these applications be resubmitted to the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF) for proper review and coordination.
This action comes after a presidential directive issued on 30 July 2025 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Abduganiyu Adegbomehin, the Surveyor-General of the Federation, said in a statement on Sunday that the suspension is meant to prevent inconsistencies in the Federal Infrastructural Master Plan and to align with the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure Policy (NGDI).
“All approved, pending, and planned requests for land allocations and Certificates of Occupancy on islands and lagoon developments are suspended. These must now go through proper survey coordination with the Presidency via OSGOF,” the statement said.
The government also warned that any construction on restricted areas or developments carried out without proper survey approval would face demolition.
Additionally, land titles granted outside the Presidency or OSGOF, including backdated or irregular approvals from other agencies, will be cancelled.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), which previously issued approvals for shoreline and lagoon projects, is now required to submit all these approvals to the Presidency through OSGOF and is barred from issuing new ones.
The statement reminded Nigerians that the Survey Coordination Act (Cap S13, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004) gives OSGOF the sole authority to regulate, standardize, and coordinate all survey activities across the country.
This latest directive follows earlier warnings. In December 2024, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Musa Dangiwa criticized unregulated developments along Lagos’ shoreline and gave developers a one-month deadline to regularize projects or risk demolition.
That warning paved the way for President Tinubu’s July 2025 order to suspend all land allocations and reclamation projects on islands, lagoons, and coastal areas across Nigeria.
