The Green Building Council Nigeria (GBCN), yesterday, emphasised the need for the National Assembly to pass the National Building Code Bill into law for a sustainable building sector and more livable cities in Nigeria.

The GBCN also encouraged states to work towards the domestication of the law when it is fully legislated.

President of the Council, Danjuma Waniko, made the call while speaking with journalists during the South-West regional workshop on the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) scorecard for sustainable building project organised by the Green Council of Nigeria in collaboration with the Lagos Office of EGIS & Urban Development in Lagos.

The Forum, however, brought together state representatives from Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, as well as other stakeholders in the building sector.

Waniko said that a national building code would avert the potential for different states going in different directions, which creates confusion for operatives in the housing sector to operate on a national scale.

He said the workshop was part of a regional series to promote the NDC scorecard for sustainable buildings project, which is a global initiative led by the World Green Building Council.

He, however, said that four national workshops had been held in Abuja, starting from October last year to May 2025.

President of the Council also pointed out that the idea was to engage with sector stakeholders, noting that out of the sub-nationals in Nigeria, only Lagos State has started implementing its plan, which has been developed.

Technical and Innovation Officer, GBCN, Sangeetha Ramaraj, said the eight priorities for the NDC scorecard for sustainable building towards creating an enabling environment include building governance and institutional capacity, strategy, policy and planning, building laws & codes, among others.

Others, according to him, are social innovation and awareness, human capacity and industry skills.

Also, Special Adviser, EGIS and Urban Development to Lagos State Governor, Dr Olajide Babatunde, represented by Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the Governor on Urban Development, Segun Williams, said the state government had updated its building planning regulations, including the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Development Law, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency and Lagos development policy, which is the last one being worked on and by second quarter of next year should be able to publish Lagos State urban policy.

He identified challenges to green building to include limited awareness, resistance to change, limited knowledge and material science, shortage of capacity to implement green buildings and additional cost implications.

He, however, reiterated that the state government is taking a proactive step towards a sustainable future through reforms, stressing that Lagos State is on its way to solidifying its position as a leader in urban sustainability in Africa.