Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has approved a 50 per cent waiver on penal fees and a three-month amnesty for property owners who have built or are building without the required planning permits.
The amnesty window runs from November 2025 to January 2026.
The Governor also directed the demolition of shanties and illegal structures along major state highways as part of efforts to curb environmental degradation, improve the state’s aesthetics and strengthen security.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunji Odunlami, announced the measures on Friday during a briefing at the ministry’s conference room.
Odunlami said Ogun State has witnessed rapid development in recent years, but noted that many property owners had undertaken construction without securing approvals as mandated by law.
He explained that while penalties exist for such infractions, the government was sensitive to the economic pressures faced by residents.
“On 1st November 2025, His Excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun approved the commencement of an amnesty programme,” Odunlami said.
“This window provides an opportunity for those who have built without obtaining planning permits to regularise their developments and enjoy a 50% reduction in applicable penal fees.”
The commissioner said the amnesty covers residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, mixed-use, and all other categories of physical developments under the state’s planning regulations. He urged individuals, corporate organisations, real estate developers, and commercial landlords to take advantage of the opportunity.
Property owners, he added, can process their documents at the ministry’s headquarters in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, or at any of its 32 zonal planning offices across the state for seamless and transparent documentation during the amnesty period.
Odunlami also raised concerns over widespread encroachment on major highways by shanties, makeshift structures, shops, signage, containers, truck parks and other unauthorised activities. He listed affected routes to include Lagos–Ibadan, Abeokuta–Siun–Sagamu, Sagamu Interchange–Ajebandele, and Abeokuta–Sango–Lagos Expressway, among others.
He warned that such activities pose significant safety risks, obstruct visibility, block drainage channels, degrade the environment and contribute to flooding.
Odunlami stressed that the state will no longer tolerate unauthorised use of setback areas except for infrastructure-related activities.
He urged property owners with plots facing major roads to immediately remove illegal structures within their setbacks, warning that non-compliance may attract sanctions, including withdrawal of planning permits and payment of abatement charges.
