Town Planners commend Pelican Valley CEO, Say He’s ‘Ambassador For Quality – Built Environment’

 

Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Ogun State chapter,  has lauded the foremost realtor, Amb. (Dr.) Babatunde Adeyemo, for his commitment to 'build right' and proper physical planning.

The NITP which also commended Dr. Adeyemo for being an 'interpreter of planning, described him as an 'ambassador for quality - built environment' in Ogun state.

The state chairman of NITP, Tpl (Mrs) Oyeyinka Adenekan, MNITP, made this known shortly after presenting an 'Award of Excellence' and 'Letter of Appreciation' to Adeyemo, who is the CEO of Pelican Valley Nigeria Ltd; the proprietor of Pelican Valley Estate, Pelican - Brief Estate, Pelican Ecostay Apartment and Pelican' Greenish Acres Farm Estates- all situating at Abeokuta - Kobape and Masa axis of Ogun State.

Tpl Adenekan was accompanied to the Corporate office of Pelican Valley on Okeyeke area of Abeokuta, the state capital, by other executives of the Nigerian institute of town planners including  Tpl Ashiru Olugbenga, FNITP, Taiwo Adeoye, MNITP, and Tpl Joseph Adebowale, MNITP, for the presentations on Thursday evening.

She described the realtor as an 'interpreter of planning' because of his well grounded knowledge and passion for physical planning.

"If only we could have more individuals who could also understand and  interprete what planning is all  about, just like you have done, this environment would have been a lot more liveable place because it is like you are giving us lecture on planning itself," she said.

Responding, Ambassador Adeyemo, who has been adjudged as the ' Poster boy of real estate,' commended the body for the presentations, saying he was overwhelmed with the honour of having 'giants' in Town Planning not only paying him courtesy visit but also accorded him immense recognition.

The Pelican Valley CEO used the avenue to     give insight into why some people may not get building approval of relevant government authority to erect structures on their land.

He said that many developers out of ignorance or unwillingness to follow due diligence, buy land without knowledge of what the location represents within the government's physical planning agenda.

He noted if the individual's plan on the land is at cross - purpose  with that of the government's plans for the location, the individual would run into a brick wall and his building plan will most likely be denied of approval by the authority.

According to him, the enlightenment became necessary to serve as a guide to some people that are desirous of having personal homes, especially those seeking to own land or build residential apartments, farm lands or industries in the state.

"I want to talk about charting information and planning information. So many people do not know that there is a difference between charting information and planning information. If they want to buy land, they just believe it is about going to Bureau of Land and Survey to chart for information but it goes beyond that. Some people also don't realise that when you chart on land and discovered that it falls under land acquisition, you don't have to kill yourself over it. It is not all the land under acquisition that is bad. Some lands under acquisition can be  ratified if they are not comited acquisition.

"There are also some lands that are free but the government can still place acquisition status on it for development control and strategic revenue generation. So, don't worry yourself into a health crisis because your land falls on government acquisition. Just take a step further to inquire if the land is on committed acquisition or not. If the land had not been committed, you can go to the government and do ratification on your land.

"That is why in Ogun State Government has programmes like OLARMS. They put that in place to enable affected land owners do the needful to regularize and ratify their lands with the relevant authority. This is what you can get from charting information but regarding planning information, it is a step further from charting information.

"After you have discovered that your land is on government acquisition, you should go find out the planning information to know what that location is meant for in the state's Master plan. Many don't know anything about this. You don't just buy land because it is on cheap offer and feel you can start farming there.

"Do you know what the location is meant for in Government Master Plan? It might not be for agriculture. It might be for residential or industrial area in the layout. That is why you need planning information from the Bureau of Land and Survey to ascertain what the land location is meant for in the Government Master plan.

"So, it is not about desiring to build your personal house and you go buy land in the agriculture zone of the state's Master plan. You won't get building approval permit for your planned house there. So, I felt I should use this medium to pass this information across and educate ourselves on what we need to know about land before buying or doing anything on it."