Experts urge town planners to follow due process in operations

Zonal Planning Officers in the Urban, Regional Planning Board of Ogun State  Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning have been advised to always follow due process in the manner they carry out their activities and keep all documents properly in case of any litigation.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Abiodun Adewolu who spoke in Abeokuta yesterday at a one-day training workshop tagged “Demolition and its Legal Consequences” organised for Town Planners said, “Town Planning Officers should handle all documents with great care, caution and confidence so as not to jeopardise the processes of legal procedure in case of any litigation”.

According to him “Ignorance of the law could throw spanner on the wheel of litigation if the concerned officers do not know the basic laws guiding his/her operations and could play himself into the hand of the property owner.”

Also speaking at the event, Solicitor-General, Mrs. Adesola Sobayo said aside enabling the Town Planners know their responsibilities, the workshop would create a synergy between the Ministries of Justice and Urban and Physical Planning for the achievement of the Mission to Rebuild Ogun State.

Sobayo said “If Town Planning Officers know what to do and do it within the ambit of the law, it would make the welfare and legal procedures by her ministry easy when preparing briefs in case of any litigation”.

In their presentations, James Mafe and Ireti Awofeso from the Ministry of Justice who spoke on the topic “Demolition and its Legal Implications” said the “Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning was poised to confront challenges of dynamic physical development across the state in the course of its operations, hence the need to be responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and coordination of programmes on all aspects of physical planning and urban development in the State”.

The duo said it was imperative to state that the enforcement notices as provided under section 48 of the State Urban and Regional Planning law requires that notices must be in writing and served on the developer or by pasting such notices on the structure/ building.

While speaking earlier in his welcome address, the Director of Administration and Supplies in the Urban and Regional Planning Board, Mr. Timothy Oyenekan said the training would enable the Town Planners work without any hitch and if there is any, they would know how to handle the situation professionally.

Responding on behalf of the participants, Mrs. Temitope Akinsanya and Mr. Babatunde Adedoyin testified that the training was a good one and would make them to be very cautious and meticulous in record keeping in order to reduce incidences of unwarranted litigations.