The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, has embarked on an assessment tour of agencies under his ministry, the first since his redeployment in September.

He urged officers on best practices and said discharging their mandates in the most professional, courteous and focused manner should be uppermost in their minds, while frowning at the undue practice of meddling in land tussles.

According to a statement by the Chief Public Affairs Officer, Kehinde-Akinsanya Adetola, the commissioner, who was accompanied by senior officials of the Ministry, on Tuesday, visited the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency, and the Lagos State Planning and Environmental Monitoring Agency to have an on-the-spot assessment of activities at the respective agencies.

During the tour, which started at LASBCA and ended at LASURA/ LASPEMA, Bamgbose-Martins, said, “As public servants, we must hold fast to the principle of service with courtesy and make sure not to be seen as revenue drivers but be seen to be developing people and ensuring that all developments are done in sanity while also scaling up revenue generation. Neither should you be found compromising your integrity and credibility.

“With the right focus and attitude, the ministry and its agencies have all it takes to achieve livable, organised and sustainable built environment as envisioned by the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda,” he said.

While commending flagship programmes such as LASPPPA’ s 10-day deal, which reduced number of days to get a planning permit from 28 to 10 days, he disclosed that other strides included LASBCA’s ongoing identification and removal of distressed buildings to prevent building collapse; LASURA’s slum mapping and upgrade initiative; and LASPEMA ‘s prototype designs for the informal sector occupying incidental open spaces in the state.