The Federal Government has suspended all land allocations and Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for islands and lagoon areas, whether previously approved, pending, or planned. Applicants are now required to resubmit their requests to the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF) for proper coordination.
The suspension follows a presidential directive issued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on July 30, 2025. Surveyor-General Abduganiyu Adegbomehin said the move aims to protect the Federal Infrastructural Master Plan and enforce compliance with the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure Policy (NGDI).
“All approved, pending, and intended requests for land on islands and lagoons are hereby suspended and must be submitted for survey coordination to the Presidency through OSGOF,” the statement read.
The government warned that any development encroaching on rights-of-way or carried out without proper survey clearance would be demolished. It also revoked land approvals issued outside OSGOF, including backdated or irregular titles.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has been instructed to forward all prior approvals for shoreline and lagoons projects to OSGOF and stop issuing new ones.
This follows earlier warnings in December 2024 by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, who criticized unregulated shoreline developments and ordered developers to regularize projects or face demolition.
President Tinubu’s directive now halts all land allocations and reclamation activities on islands, lagoons, and coastal corridors nationwide.
