Lagos State Governor Babajide SanwoOlu, yesterday, took an unscheduled five hour working tour of key towns along state’s coastal areas, taking on-the-spot assessment of chaotic developments sprawling across the riverine communities.

The governor’s visit to the coastline came on the heels of proliferating physical developments along the coastal corridor, most of which encroached on approved setbacks and were done in violation of the State’s physical planning regulations.

Sanwo-Olu, accompanied by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and members of the State’s Executive Council, took a survey of unapproved structures erected along Ibeshe, Kare and Inagbe, which share boundaries with Ilashe.

Besides, the governor used the opportunity to assess key infrastructure in the coastal areas, including the 30 megavolt-ampere power station built by the State Government to connect the communities in the riverine neighbourhood to the national grid.

The coastal corridor in Lagos is a major tourist destination; the State Government aims to sanitise the corridor and fully integrate tourist business operators into the adopted physical planning model. Sanwo-Olu, visibly dissatisfied with the untidy physical developments dotting the coastline, sent a strong note of caution to violators encroaching into unauthorised areas to expand their businesses.

The governor said: “We are also bringing a lot of order, sanity and repossession to redefine livelihood in these communities. “There are a lot of disjointed buildings going on along the corridor.

There has been a lot of abuse of physical planning approvals and complete abuse of the approved setbacks and lines from the ocean banks. “People have taken their development beyond these lines in flagrant violation of safety regulations and the physical planning approvals.”