Apapa GRA residents press Lagos to suspend warehouse approvals
Written on
The Apapa GRA Residents Association wants Lagos State to suspend permits for warehouses and commercial developments in the estate, saying the approvals are changing the character of the low-density residential area without consultation.
The Apapa GRA Residents Association has called on the Lagos State Government to suspend approvals for warehouses and other commercial developments within the estate, alleging that the permits are altering the character of the historically residential area without adequate consultation with residents.
The association accused the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) of approving commercial warehouse developments within Apapa GRA despite concerns over deteriorating roads, flooding, drainage and the potential impact of increased heavy-duty vehicle traffic.
Among the developments identified by residents is an electric vehicle assembly facility they said is owned by Fouani Group. The association also claimed that several of the warehouse developments were owned by Lebanese-linked companies, but it did not provide a list of the companies or documentary evidence establishing ownership in the material it submitted.
The residents argued that their primary concern was the conversion of an area originally intended for residential purposes into a location for warehousing and logistics activities. "Apapa GRA was never conceived as an industrial park. It was designed as a residential enclave," the association said, accusing the state government of prioritising commercial development over residents' concerns. It singled out Oduduwa Road and Park Lane, two state-controlled roads within the GRA, as already in poor condition, with deteriorating surfaces, drainage problems and persistent flooding in parts of the estate.
Residents also questioned whether adequate consultation preceded the approvals, alleging that they were neither consulted nor invited to a town hall meeting before the permits were granted. They demanded the immediate suspension of the disputed permits and a public hearing involving residents and relevant government authorities.
The claims regarding the number and ownership of the warehouses, the precise zoning status of the affected properties and whether the approvals complied with applicable planning requirements could not be independently verified from the submission, which did not include responses from LASPPPA, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development or Fouani Group to the allegations.