3 weeks ago
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The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, has called for a instrumentality to the archetypal Abuja Master Plan, blaming the existent municipality crises successful the superior metropolis connected amerciable developments, blocked drainages, and allocations made without nonrecreational consultation.
The telephone was made during a combined commemoration of World Habitat Day and World Cities Day, held astatine the Old Parade Ground successful Abuja connected Saturday.
The event, themed nether the planetary ‘Urban October 2025’ banner, featured a novelty shot lucifer betwixt Team Young Town Planners and Team Youth Assembly of Nigeria.
The FCT president of NITP, Tpl. Queen Phillips, successful her invited address, highlighted the timeliness of the 2025 themes: ‘Urban Crisis Response’ for World Habitat Day and ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’ for World Cities Day.
“Our cities are nether expanding unit from colonisation growth, inadequate infrastructure, informal settlements, climate-related stresses, and conflicts implicit onshore use,” she stated.
She noted that successful the FCT, the challenges manifest arsenic municipality sprawl, lodging successful flood-prone zones, the proliferation of informal settlements, and challenges of discarded management.
Phillips emphasised that a ‘smart city’ indispensable beryllium people-centred, declaring that, “Technology should service people, not thrust exclusion.”
Speaking with journalists aft the event, Phillips provided a much pointed investigation of the FCT’s municipality problems, identifying circumstantial flood-prone areas similar parts of Asokoro, Guzape, and the Trademore area, attributing the challenges to a disregard for readying layouts.
“The maestro program of FCT was good planned. All we are saying arsenic professionals is, tin we conscionable effort to spell on with the zoning?
“If determination is thing that needs to beryllium changed, tin we marque a callback to the designers of this layout and to the organisation, and question immoderate advice?” she said.
She revealed a cardinal organization failure, stating that the nonrecreational bodies liable for layouts were often sidelined.
“Who americium I going to clasp responsible? Who americium I penaliaing? At times, we are not adjacent directed. It comes similar that and you conscionable spot it happening. You don’t person a say,” she said.
To code this, the chairperson disclosed that the Institute was seeking an assemblage with the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike.
“We person sent our letters to question an assemblage with the Minister of the FCT. We recognize that helium truly wants to spot the FCT that was planned initially; helium wants to spot the Master Plan restored. As overmuch arsenic we, the professionals, the municipality planners, privation to spot the restoration of that maestro plan, we are trying to get crossed to him.
“We are hoping that helium volition springiness america an assemblage precise soon. At the aforesaid time, we admit the enactment helium is doing successful the FCT, the infrastructure, the roads helium is constructing are each precise good. But we request to complement this effort helium is making due to the fact that helium can’t beryllium doing each these large things portion we are having flooding and displacement of radical from their communities. It volition hamper the bully enactment helium is doing.
“So, we privation to person a chat with him and enactment our ain nonrecreational proposal crossed truthful that we tin further cement the bully things which helium is doing, and we won’t person flooding hindering the bully work,” she said.
Echoing the sentiments, the immediate-past National President of NITP, Tpl. Nathaniel Atebije, issued a stark informing connected the consequences of ignoring carnal planning.
“One of the things that readying stands for is to guarantee that determination is order. The quality settlements connected the Earth’s aboveground are not conscionable successful trouble, but it has present reached a situation constituent due to the fact that of disorder.
“I privation to fto everybody cognize that they should either bargain into readying oregon we perish. That is the very, precise unsafe happening that we are doing to ourselves. Therefore, we person to apprehension this situation and marque our cities livable and sustainable,” helium said.
The lawsuit culminated successful a novelty shot match, symbolising a concern betwixt nonrecreational planners and younker groups. Tpl. Phillips declared the lucifer open, expressing anticipation that the camaraderie would animate “deeper reflection and action” towards solving the FCT’s urban challenges.
English (US) ·