The Federal Government has approved a unified Standard Application Procedure (SAP) to regulate shoreline allocations, reclamation requests, and related approvals across the country, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and uniformity in the sector.
The decision was announced in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Badamasi Haiba.
According to the statement, the new framework is part of resolutions reached at a meeting of the Technical Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Effective Control and Management of National Inland Waterways and Shorelines. The committee comprises the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (FMHUD), the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF).
Standardised Process for Shoreline Applications
Haiba explained that the committee was established to harmonise and update procedures governing shoreline reclamation, allocations, and regulatory collaboration, in line with the directives of President Bola Tinubu and the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Under the newly approved procedure, all shoreline applications will begin with the submission of a Letter of Intent to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. This will be followed by a mandatory joint inspection conducted by FMHUD and NIWA, with the applicant present.
Provisional allocations, he said, will now be based strictly on survey data jointly validated by surveyors from FMHUD, NIWA, and OSGOF. The measure is designed to prevent encroachment into navigational channels, eliminate overlapping allocations, and protect national spatial integrity.
Review of Existing Approvals
The committee also directed that all existing shoreline grants—whether new, active, dormant, or pending—be subjected to immediate review in line with the new SAP.
“In line with earlier presidential directives, any approval granted in previous years without evidence of payment of statutory assessed fees has been revoked,” Haiba said.
For high-sensitivity locations, including Banana Island, the committee ruled that no new approval or extension would exceed boundaries jointly established by FMHUD, OSGOF, and NIWA, adding that strict compliance would be enforced.
Timelines, Sanctions, and Compliance
To improve efficiency and eliminate delays, the committee approved a mandatory 14-day processing timeline for each stage of the shoreline application and approval process.
Haiba added that all Provisional Offer Letters would now include clear expiration clauses, while non-compliance by officers or applicants would attract appropriate administrative and regulatory sanctions.
He noted that the committee’s resolutions supersede all previous directives, circulars, and guidelines issued by any Ministry, Department, or Agency regarding shoreline reclamation, allocation, survey validation, and related matters.
The committee commended the participating agencies for their cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to a transparent, coordinated, and sustainable framework for the management, protection, and orderly development of Nigeria’s inland waterways and shorelines.
