…Vows to Pull Down Encroachments
The Federal Government has announced a sweeping suspension of allocations and approvals relating to shorelines, coastal roads, island and lagoon developments across the country, in line with the recent presidential directive issued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on July 30, 2025.
The directive, conveyed through the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF), is aimed at protecting Nigeria’s federal highways and legacy infrastructure from encroachment and uncoordinated development.
Speaking in Abuja, the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Surv. Abduganiyu A. Adebomehin, said the Federal Government would henceforth strictly enforce a moratorium on all new requests for shoreline and coastal documentation.
“All developments encroaching on the Right of Way, and projects conceived without proper survey coordination, will be demolished to prevent distortion of the Federal Infrastructural Master Plan as determined by the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure Policy (NGDI),” Adebomehin warned.
He further explained that all approved, pending, and intended requests for allocations or Certificates of Occupancy on island and lagoon developments have been suspended. According to him, such documents must now be resubmitted to the Presidency through OSGOF for proper survey coordination.
The Surveyor-General also directed the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to immediately submit records of all past approvals granted to individuals and corporate bodies.
“NIWA is advised to desist from issuing fresh approvals and must collate all previously granted approvals to be forwarded to the Presidency, Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation,” he stated.
Reaffirming OSGOF’s mandate, Adebomehin stressed that under the Survey Coordination Act, Cap S13, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, OSGOF remains the only legally designated institution responsible for regulating, standardizing, and harmonizing survey activities nationwide.
“All wrongfully assigned or backdated approvals that did not emanate from the Presidency, Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, are subject to immediate revocation at the directive of the President,” he added.
The move is expected to halt indiscriminate development on Nigeria’s sensitive coastal and federal infrastructure corridors, while ensuring a coordinated framework for future projects.
