The Ebonyi State representative in the Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria, TOPREC, Dr. Chinedu Okoro, has warned practitioners in the state against engaging in corrupt and unethical practices, which he said have most often led to flooding and posed other dangers to human lives across the state.
Dr. Okoro gave the warning while inaugurating the Ebonyi State TOPREC Professional Monitoring Team at the State Ministry of Capital City and Urban Development Abakaliki, the state capital.
Dr. Okoro, who is also an Abuja-based town planner, warned against building on waterways, adding that such unethical practice has caused more harm than good to the residents and the environment.
He maintained that the monitoring team is part of the tool the council uses to regulate the activities of the practitioners, adding that Ebonyi State practitioners must align with what the law stipulates, which is regulating the practice, disciplining offenders, and ensuring that ethics are maintained.
The committee will ensure that members comply strictly with the ethics of the profession and collaborate with the state government and practising consultants on policies and projects being carried out in the state.
Over the years, the state has not had a monitoring team because the people didn’t consider it necessary to have one, which has adversely affected many things, but today, we have inaugurated the committee to ensure that the right things are carried out, he said.
He commended the state government for the high level of planning in the capital city but expressed regret that the same could not be said of the state’s 12 local government areas.
He urged the state governor to employ town planners in local government areas to monitor developers’ activities in those areas.
The team secretary, Mrs. Esther Nwite, said that they would not hesitate to refer any offending member or members to the National Ethics Committee for disciplinary action.
She assured that the team would work assiduously to ensure that all members strictly adhere to the rules and regulations guiding the profession.
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