Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) Lagos Chapter has called for equitable and inclusive planning with local councils in physical development to tackle urban and environmental challenges.
It lamented that currently, local councils/local council development areas in states, particularly Lagos, play little or no role in physical planning administration.
Chapter chairman, Dele Akindele, who made the call while speaking to journalists in Lagos, urged the state government to prioritise the establishment of the Office of Town Planner General in the public service sector.
According to him, there are indications that the state would fare better in physical planning with the involvement of local councils. The Urban and Regional Planning Law, he disclosed, gave specific roles and power to the council areas in the physical planning and administration chain.
Akindele pointed out that it is on record that the state government established Local Planning Offices (LPOs) when the national law was first domesticated, but along the line, they were phased out, demanding urgent reconsideration.
The chairman explained that such a move is necessary for proper coordination of planning activities and effective integration of all the Operational Development Plans (ODPs) spread across the state.
Akindele emphasised that the creation of the town planner general office would proffer a centralised and coordinated solution to the challenges raised at the maiden Physical Planning Summit held recently in the state.
He said: “We have a Tutor General, Auditor General, Accountant General, Surveyor General, among others.
Having a Town Planner General should not in any way be difficult for town planners to take full charge of the city planning, development and management in a sustainable manner, and to support the government with technical advice at a high level. Creating the post of a Town Planner General is very crucial, and it will be the most appropriate thing if this is put in place without delay.”
The institute lauded the state government for the significant investment in the preparation of Operative Development Plans (ODPs) in the last six years, adding that Lagos has continued to show its leadership in urban development in the preparation of development plans of various hierarchies. This, Akindele noted, is in tandem with global practice and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as provided in Goal, which centres on sustainable cities and communities.
Also speaking, Vice Chairman of NITP Lagos, Adebayo Odukoya, also urged the state and the federal governments to prioritise inclusion of professional town planners in developmental plans.
