Lagos town planners begin six-floor secretariat project

The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has begun construction of its new office secretariat in Lagos, which is named after the pioneer chairman of the chapter, late Joseph Awogbemi.

Christened NITP-Joseph Awogbemi House, the six-floor office complex will be built on a 1,514.60 m² piece of land strategically located in the heart of Central Business District (CBD), Alausa, Ikeja. The project will consist of car parks, offices, state-of-the-art infrastructures and other essential facilities needed in a modern building.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project, the Chairman, NITP Lagos, Tayo Awomosu, said the ground-breaking was an important step towards achieving the institute’s dream of re-developing its mini-secretariat to a six-floor edifice.

Awomosu said: “It is only one in a series of efforts at ensuring that the state chapter has a befitting home of its own. Efforts of the previous executives and members included land acquisition, construction of a mini-secretariat, renaming of the building after our pioneer Chairman, design of the proposed building, including its various iterations and redesigns and the processing of development permit for the proposed building.”

The chairman lauded the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration for granting 100 per cent waiver on the assessment fees for the project. “We have devoted substantial energy and time into this building project. This has resulted in the demolition of the mini-secretariat, and preparing the site for actual construction work, as well as putting together a project team made up of an array of construction specialists, and arranging funding for the initial stage of the project,” he said.

Awomosu called on members to be steadfast and support the project to completion.

A past chairman of the chapter, Sulaiman Yusuf, recalled that the chapter, which was formed in 1983 with five members, has grown in leaps and bounds, adding that those who championed the cause of the chapter remained faithful till date by contributing to the development of the state and the national body.

Chairman NITP building Committee, Ayo Adediran, praised the chapters’ past chairmen for supporting the institute and solicited for more support to finance the project. He disclosed that the best design was picked through a competitive bidding process.

A representative of NITP President, Olutoyin Ayinde, who said the project is an elaborate one, noted the chairman’s focus and prayed for safety and resources to complete it in record time.

President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Bisi Adedire, said the project will be through a joint venture and urged members not to relent in funding the project to completion.

Earlier, Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Olumide Oluyinka, reiterated the ministry’s commitment towards upgrading the status of town planners and physical planning in the state. He stressed that practitioners are in the best position to guide developers on the type of buildings to construct on a building site, adding that the issue of planning must be taken seriously.

He promised to support the project financially. Oluyinka argued that though planning is important, it remains a big challenge in the country, hence, elders in the profession must influence change and grow young professionals.

He also encouraged them to participate in politics to change the system by influencing the needed change.