Nigeria: Govt Suspends Issuance of Approvals for Shorelines Devt, Others

Abuja — The federal government has suspended the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) and has placed a moratorium on all requests for the documentation on shorelines, coastal roads, island and lagoon developments.

A statement signed by the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Abduganiyu Abdebomehin, noted that these actions followed the directive issued by President Bola Tinubu on July 30, 2025, regarding issues and approvals on all federal highways, shorelines, coastal roads, island and lagoon developments and federal legacy infrastructure.

"Henceforth, the federal government will enforce a moratorium on all requests for issuance of documentation on shorelines, coastal roads, island and lagoon developments. All approved, pending and intended requests for issuance of allocations and certificate 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 (OSGOF)", it added.

In the same vein, it said that all developments encroaching on Right of Way (RoW) and developments 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).

"Henceforth, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is hereby advised to collate and submit all approvals granted to any individuals or corporate business entities to the Presidency, Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, and desist from issuing same subsequently," the statement said.

Besides, the organisation advised the general public to note that as the legally designated institution under the Survey Coordination Act, Cap S13, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, OSGOF is responsible for the regulation, standardisation, and harmonisation of all survey activities across the country.

"All existing, wrongfully assigned, or backdated approvals heretofore mentioned that do not emanate from the Presidency, Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation are subject to revocation at the directive of the President," Adebomehin said.

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