Oyo govt unveils plan to digitize building, survey plan approval

By Adejayan Gbenga –

The Oyo State Government has announced plans to introduce a fully digital system for processing building and survey plan approvals as part of its commitment to modernize urban management and improve efficiency.

The Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Williams Akin-Funmilayo, disclosed this on Monday during a meeting with zonal directors of town planning offices across the state, held at the ministry’s conference room in Ibadan.

According to Akin-Funmilayo, the digital approval process represents a major shift in the state’s urban regulation framework, designed to eliminate leakages, irregularities, and inefficiencies associated with manual operations.

“It will eradicate the traditional way of doing things as it is fully automated and equipped with security features, including barcodes that generate and validate every approved document,” he stated.

The commissioner emphasized that the era of inefficiency and compromise among town planning officials is over, warning that the government will no longer tolerate excuses but will demand results that reflect its investment in modernization.

He also directed the task forces and enforcement departments under the Physical Planning Agency to intensify monitoring and clamp down on developers or individuals who violate planning regulations.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to protecting lives and property through strict compliance with planning laws, Akin-Funmilayo assured residents that the new digital system would allow citizens to apply for and process building approvals from anywhere in the world, saving time and reducing the need for intermediaries or backdoor dealings.

He further appealed to property owners to support the initiative by adhering to the new digital procedures, assuring them that the system would be user-friendly, transparent, and corruption-free.