Lagos outlaws manual processing of building permits

The Lagos State Government has outlawed all forms of manual processing of building permits across the state effective April 1, 2026, warning that anyone involved will face the wrath of the law

Abiodun Babatunde, the Special Adviser to the state governor on e-GIS and Urban Planning, disclosed this during a session with the media. He said the state government has now introduced an electronic processing system that is timely and more cost-effective, allowing residents to engage with the system from the comfort of their homes from any location.

The new system, he said, aligns with the government’s vision to build a more efficient, transparent and technology-driven governance system, under its Electronic Physical Planning Permit System (EPPPS) which came into effect April 1, this year.

He urged those who have not taken advantage of the EPPPS before April 1 to turn in their documents to avoid the full wrath of the law. He said the commencement of the full implementation of its Electronic Physical Planning Process System (EPPPS) has formally ended the manual processing of building approvals across the state, noting that the initiative signals “the dawn of a new era in digital processing of planning permissions” in Lagos.

Babatunde explained that the EPPPS is a web-based platform designed to modernise operations, improve transparency and eliminate bottlenecks in the approval process. He said the system has achieved full operational readiness with 100 per cent training of personnel, complete deployment of computer systems and internet connectivity across all district offices.

He said: “The full automation of our planning permit process commenced on April 1, 2026. Let me be unequivocally clear: the manual processing of physical planning permits has been completely discontinued and outlawed in Lagos State.

“All applications must now go through the EPPPS platform exclusively. Anyone processing planning permits manually from this date is engaging in an illegal activity.

“We have provided the tools to do things the right way. Any attempt to revert to manual, backdoor processes is now strictly illegal, and the government will deal with this without hesitation.”

He added that other landmark updates include the Certified Accreditor Programme (CAP), a public-private partnership aimed at strengthening building control and reducing incidents of structural failure; the Lagos State Geographic Information System Centre; and the introduction of the Omentum software for complete digitisation of land systems and titles to guarantee the integrity of the land registry and boost investors’ confidence.

The SA also revealed that the Lagos State Government is decentralising land administration services, with the Ikeja e-GIS regional office already operational and additional centres planned for Lekki, Epe, Badagry and Ikorodu.

Babatunde further highlighted the deployment of Aumentum Software for land administration, describing it as a secure digital solution for processing Certificates of Occupancy and managing land records.

“We are aggressively moving away from the era of dusty files, long queues, and missing documents. This software guarantees the integrity of our land registry and significantly boosts investor confidence,” he said.

He further explained that the integration of the Moola Tracker has simplified mortgage consent processing, reducing the procedure from 29 steps to just eight without introducing new fees.

“We are not adding any extra charges. We are simply bringing technology to solve the problem of delay and to encourage more people to safely leverage their properties,” he added.