Abia State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners NITP has tasked the new state governor, Dr. Alex Otti to enforce all extant physical town planning laws and engage professionals in doing so.
It also urged him to fast-track the development of Master Plans for Ohafia and Umuahia, the state capital as done for Aba.
The group made the charge in a congratulatory message to Governor Otti.
They lauded his election and inauguration as the 5th Executive Governor of the state and lamented that previous administrations disregarded various provisions of the laws including professional advice, hence the prevailing disorderliness.
Other tasks the State NITP Chapter specifically set for the governor were provisions of laws on urban renewals, cities decongestion, development of new towns, including the appointment of Town Planners as Commissioner and Permanent Secretary in the Physical Planning Ministry.
In the congratulatory message signed by the chapter chairman and secretary respectively, Mr. Stephen Chukwudi Nwazue and Chinwe Constance Ekwuribe, the Town Planners stated many building collapses and failures were traceable to non-adherence to regulations by the developers who not only engage unprofessional, but fail to adhere to legal prescription that soils shall be pre-tested before erecting high rise buildings of three and more floors.
NITP, which, however commended Otti’s move to comply with all physical laws to address the Aba urban planning disorder, by appointing a professional to take charge of it, pledged its member’s readiness to work with him in achieving Physical Development and Urban Renewal in the state.
It disclosed that the “Institute had previously advised the state government in the areas of Physical Planning and Urban Renewal, especially in the three major cities of the state, namely Umuahia, Aba and Ohafia and are now poised to do more for orderliness in our urban areas towards ensuring that the state is developed aesthetically for economic development.”
