The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has urged the Nigerian Government to fully enforce the 1992 Urban and Regional Planning Act, warning that weak implementation is worsening the urban and environmental challenges.
The NITP National President, Dr Ogbonna Chime made the call in a statement marking the Institute’s 60th anniversary.
Chime said; “Nigeria’s rapid urbanisation, recurring flooding, proliferation of informal settlements and environmental degradation were largely linked to physical development carried out without adherence to approved master plans and professional planning principles.”
He explained that “the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act, enacted in 1992 as Decree No. 88, provides the legal framework for physical and development planning in Nigeria and repealed the former Town and Country Planning Act.”
The legislation was subsequently incorporated into the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, but its implementation across the different tiers of government remains a major challenge.
Chime said while some states had domesticated the legislation and were benefiting from more coordinated development, others were yet to do so.
“Until this law is fully operationalised across all tiers, physical planning activities in non-compliant areas remain structured on shaky legal ground,” he stated.
The Institute identified government non-compliance, inadequate funding and technical equipment, shortage of trained personnel and political interference in land-use planning as major obstacles to effective physical development.
It also linked inadequate drainage systems and unplanned development to the increasing incidence of urban flooding in many parts of the country.
The NITP said; “poor physical planning had become a national development concern, with far-reaching implications for housing, transportation, infrastructure, environmental sustainability and the liveability of Nigerian cities.”
According to the Institute, effective physical planning is essential to ensuring that urban growth is properly managed and that infrastructure and public services keep pace with population expansion.
It therefore urged the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to lead a coordinated national enforcement drive and called on states that were yet to domesticate the legislation to take steps to do so.
Chime also called for stronger planning institutions, adequate funding, modern technical equipment and the recruitment and training of qualified town planners to improve planning and development control nationwide.
He stressed the need to reduce political interference in land-use decisions and ensure that approved development plans were respected by relevant authorities and property developers.
The NITP President said! “the Institute’s 60th anniversary provided an opportunity to renew its advocacy for stronger planning institutions and sustainable, safe and liveable Nigerian cities.”
He reaffirmed the commitment of town planners to working with government at all levels and other stakeholders to promote orderly urban development and address the environmental and infrastructure challenges associated with rapid urbanisation.
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