The Federal Government has suspended all previously approved, pending, and planned applications for land allocations and Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) on islands and lagoons, directing that they be resubmitted to the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF) for proper coordination.
This move followed a presidential directive issued on July 30, 2025, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which placed a moratorium on shoreline, coastal road, island, lagoon, and other federal legacy infrastructure developments nationwide.
The announcement was contained in a statement signed by the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Surv. Abduganiyu A. Adegbomehin, on Sunday, who explained that the move was necessary to prevent distortions of the Federal Infrastructural Master Plan in line with the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure Policy (NGDI).
“In view of the Presidential Directive issued by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on July 30, 2025, regarding issues and approvals on all Federal Highways, Shorelines, Coastal Roads, Island and Lagoon Developments, and Federal Legacy Infrastructure, the General Public is invited to note the following,” the directive read in part.
It continued, “All approved, pending, and intended requests for issuance of Allocations and Certificates of Occupancy on Island and Lagoon Developments are hereby suspended and must be submitted for proper Survey Coordination to the Presidency, Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation.”
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The Federal Government also warned that any developments encroaching on the right-of-way, as well as those carried out without proper survey coordination, will be demolished.
- The directive added that any land approvals granted outside the Presidency or the Office of the Surveyor-General, including those backdated or wrongly assigned by other agencies, are subject to revocation.
- The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), which had previously issued certain approvals for lagoon and shoreline projects, has now been directed to collate and submit all approvals it granted to individuals or corporate entities to the Presidency through OSGOF, and to desist from issuing such approvals in the future.
It further reminded the public that under the Survey Coordination Act, Cap S13, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, OSGOF is the legally designated institution responsible for regulating, standardizing, and harmonizing all survey activities across the country.
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Even before the suspension in July 2025, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa had, in December 2024, decried the unregulated developments springing up along the Lagos shoreline.
- During an inspection of the Lagos Lagoon Estates and waterfront, he gave developers a one-month ultimatum to regularize their projects or risk demolition and revocation.
- That warning set the stage for the July 2025 directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which suspended all land allocations and reclamation activities on islands, lagoons, and coastal corridors nationwide.
The latest order requiring resubmission of all Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) requests to the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF) now formalizes this process. It centralizes shoreline and lagoon approvals, places past and pending titles under review, and bars agencies such as the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) from independently granting land rights.
