NITP makes case for new urban agenda domestication


The national President, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Lekwa Ezutah, has called on the federal government to domesticate the components of the new urban agenda. 

Ezutah, who spoke over the weekend in Abuja during his investiture as the 23rd president of NITP, said the new urban agenda was adopted at UN conference on housing and sustainable urban development (Habitat lll) in Quito, Ecuador on October 20,20160 

According to him, it was endorsed by the UN General Assembly at its 68th plenary meeting of the 71st session in December 2016 to respond to challenges being faced by cities.

Ezutah said if well planned and managed, urbanisation could be a powerful tool for sustainable development for both developing and developed countries.

He said: “I call on the Federal Government to specially and urgently pay attention to making efforts at the domestication of the components of the agenda”. 

Ezutah, who is also a Special Assistant to the Abia state governor on urban development, urged the federal government to adopt robust physical planning measures in order to boost economic growth and development. 

He said no form of growth in including the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan(ERGP) can be sustained without adequate physical planning measures put in place.

“From experience, countries with robust physical planning programmes have grown faster and developed more sustainably, economically and socially. The most outstanding of such experience is Singapore” he said. 

The NITP president also called on the FG to adopt the content of the Earth Charter.

The Earth Charter is an ethical framework for building a just sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century inspiring in people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the wellbeing of human family.

According to him, government should ensure that the town planners are integral part of its political agenda to enhance the chances of success.

He promised that the new management would reform the national secretariat of the institute, grow membership, improve and strengthen the professional competence of members and increase awareness.

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