The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), has called for the full domestication and implementation of the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Law across all states of the federation.
Its president, Dr Chime Ogbonna, made the call over the weekend during a press briefing ahead of the 56th International Conference of the institute scheduled to hold in Abuja.
Ogbonna said the conference, themed “Refocusing Planning Administration Toward Sustainable Urban Governance and Development,” aims to address challenges surrounding the governance and administration of Nigerian towns, cities, and regions.
He said the event would serve as a national platform to drive the implementation of the URP Law through advocacy, engagement, and collaboration with stakeholders at all levels.
“This starts with aggressive advocacy and engagement at the national, regional, and local levels. We must bring all critical stakeholders on board to make this a reality,” he said.
According to him, the conference would also explore policy and political actions necessary to ensure that the law is implemented by the federal government and domesticated by all state governments.
“Ebonyi State has already become the latest to domesticate the law,” Ogbonna disclosed.
He added that the NITP was working towards building a robust planning structure across the three tiers of government — a federal planning commission, state urban planning boards, and local planning authorities — to ensure sustainable development.
Ogbonna said effective urban governance would enable proactive responses to Nigeria’s rapid urbanisation and promote sustainable management of cities, towns, and regions.
He expressed optimism that the conference would mark a major step towards achieving efficient administration and governance of urban areas nationwide.
