The Lagos State Government in collaboration with the British Government has said its newly developed urban renewal plan will start with Otto community in the Ijora area of the state.

According to a statement on Thursday, the Lagos State Resilience Officer, Dr Folayinka Dania, disclosed this during a visit to Otto/Iddo community in Ijora.

She said, “In order to kick-start the implementation of the new Urban Renewal Guidelines, Otto community in Ijora has been picked by the United Kingdom Government as a pilot community to domesticate the newly developed urban renewal for the state.”

Dania added that the renewal programme involved the redevelopment and regeneration of communities across the state.

“These guidelines adopted a participatory, community-led approach and advance strategies for resettlement, slum upgrading, regeneration, redevelopment and public private partnerships to be implemented starting with a pilot, results of which will feed back into the Urban Renewal Policy,” she said.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, said, “The state chose Otto because we believe if we can do something in a small community and it works, we will be able to replicate it across the state. I am here to see the impact of climate change, particularly flooding, on this community.

“The Lagos State Government and Otto community are working with us on solutions to address the issue and ensure that the people live a better life.”