By: Tijani Salako.

The Lagos State Government has commenced collaboration with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) within the State to document, plan, and manage 3000 hectares of informal spaces across the state.

The initiative, being coordinated by the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, was disclosed by the Commissioner, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, through the Head of public affairs department Mrs Kehinde Akinsanya, at a stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting held in Alausa, Ikeja.

The consultant to the project, CEO of Octragon Engr. Gbolahan Awolesi said Octragon Multi-Project Limited had been engaged to comprehensively document informal spaces across Lagos State in line with international best practices.

According to the Commissioner, Dr Olumide, the programme is designed to systematically document informal spaces such as setbacks, open areas, and common spaces, to ensure their proper designation and optimal utilisation in line with planning standards.

He said the absence of proper documentation in the past had resulted in cleared setbacks and common areas remaining idle or being re-encroached upon.

“Common areas are deliberately created to enhance environmental quality. This initiative will ensure that informal spaces are properly identified, planned, managed, and put to appropriate use,” the commissioner said.

Dr Olumide added that Lagos State has an estimated 3,000 hectares of informal spaces, noting that planning is required to guarantee their sustainable use.

The Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Engr. Oluwole Sotire said the programme would improve environmental aesthetics and demonstrate how informal spaces could be productively utilised.

Sotire noted that informal spaces are often wrongly regarded as unowned, stressing that they are among the state’s most valuable and limited resources, which require protection and effective management.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Babatunde Onigbanjo, said the initiative must benefit residents without negatively affecting their livelihoods, while affirming the ministry’s support for the programme.

The representative of the Director-General, Lagos State Sports Commission, Adedeji Aladegbemi, described the initiative as timely and appealed for informal spaces designated for sports development to be allocated to the commission to address space limitations and youth engagement challenges.

The General Manager, Lagos State Informal Space Management Authority, Tpl. Daisi Oso said improper use of setbacks had reduced opportunities for youth engagement, assuring that such spaces would be better planned and managed going forward.

Similarly, the General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Babatunde Ajayi, expressed the agency’s readiness to collaborate, particularly on recycling initiatives.

Ajayi disclosed plans to establish recycling facilities and public toilets in informal spaces to curb open defecation, adding that monitoring directories would be installed in identified locations.