• As Okoye leads AWTPN, pledges to empower women
The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has urged the Abia State government to` implement the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law by establishing the State Urban and Regional Planning Agency, Local Planning Authorities and other statutory bodies required to drive orderly development.
Speaking in Umuahia at the inauguration of Dr Vera Okoye as the new National Chairman of the Association of Women Town Planners in Nigeria (AWTPN), NITP President, Dr Chime Ogbonna, noted that Abia was among the first states to domesticate the national planning law but has yet to realise its full benefits due to gaps in institutional implementation.
“Good intentions must be guided by proper planning procedures,” Ogbonna said. “The NITP is ready to partner with Abia State to strengthen its planning institutions and personnel.”
He described the ceremony as symbolic, representing leadership renewal, continuity of purpose and a collective commitment to strengthening town planning as a tool for national transformation. Ogbonna congratulated Okoye and her team, expressing confidence in their ability to deepen the association’s work in professional development, advocacy and public enlightenment.
He commended AWTPN for its “extraordinary sense of purpose,” citing its increasing visibility and advocacy achievements. “As AWTPN begins a new leadership phase, we expect sustained achievements and expanded impact in advocacy, mentorship, policy engagement and collaboration,” he said.
Ogbonna encouraged the new executives to introduce innovative programmes that empower women in planning, inspire young professionals and strengthen community engagement in spatial development matters.
Delivering her inaugural address, Okoye called for stronger collaboration, enhanced professional development and robust advocacy for women’s leadership within the planning sector.
She unveiled her administration’s flagship framework, the C.R.E.A.T.I.V.E.S Visionary Goals (CVG), a strategic agenda centred on collaboration, rollout of interventions, empowerment, advocacy, training, inspiration, visionary action, enlightenment and sustainable mentorship. According to her, the agenda will guide the association’s programmes and partnerships nationwide.
Okoye pledged intensified collaboration with NITP, the Town Planners Registration Council (TOPREC), ministries, state planning agencies and civil society organisations to ensure the domestication and full implementation of the 1992 Urban and Regional Planning Law across all states.
“Our aim is to ensure the planning law is not an archival document but a working tool that produces better outcomes for communities and investors,” she said.
She announced plans to strengthen internal cohesion through unified chapter activities, mentorship structures, knowledge-sharing systems and professional deployment platforms. Capacity building, she said, will be a central priority. “It is not enough to convene; we must equip,” she said, pledging continuous professional development programmes, short courses, digital skills training and hands-on exposure for members.
Okoye also promised assertive advocacy for fair representation of women in leadership and decision-making, alongside campaigns to amplify the achievements of women planners. She revealed plans for school outreach initiatives to inspire young girls to pursue careers in urban planning and foster early understanding of civic responsibility in spatial development.
Earlier, the immediate past national chairman, Mrs Rekiyat Fache, said AWTPN had grown its membership from 140 to 709 within her tenure, with 10 new states joining the association. She noted that the body played a role in safeguarding the Osun-Osogbo Grove from delisting as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fache added that AWTPN chapters nationwide executed planning-related interventions, including partial slum upgrades, building repairs, drainage cleanups, market sanitation, tree planting and climate action initiatives.
