The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has urged town planners and experts to improve on their productivity, efficiency and discipline.
The Director, Urban and Regional Development of the ministry, Dr. Olakunle Akinola-David, made the appeal at a three-day regional workshop for directors of town planning and experts on Monday in Kano
Akinola-David, said that to improve on these attitudes, officers needed to be trained and re-trained, to enhance greater understanding of their responsibilities, coupled with knowledge and skill needed to work.
He said this would enhance productivity and maximum output which had necessitated the training programme.
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“The importance of this training at this time cannot be overemphasised with the growing awareness and expectation of service delivery from public officers in a growing democracy like ours.
“It is important that those vested with the management of most valuable assets be made to increase their efficiency and productivity as well as professionalism to grow the economy.”
He said it was as a clear fact that the Federal Government and all sub-national government had been applying one set of standards or the other before now, hence the need to synchronise to reflect federal character.
According to him, there is also the need for federating units to work together more closely, to guarantee smooth, sustainable and cohesive human settlements development across the country.
“In November 2021, the Federal Government took the bold step of mobilising national stakeholders to drive process of developing a common body of standards and guidelines that could be applied to moderate physical planning activities within Nigeria.
“It is essential to bring together directors of town planning and experts from the northern part of the country which comprises North-Central, North-West and North- East.
“We want people from this region to make their contributions and input; this is being brought down to the grassroots for them to be involved in the foundation of the policy.
“The ministry had policy preparatory process as landmark event that will determine the destiny of human settlements development in Nigeria in the forseeable future,”he said.
Akinola-David noted that following input from the region, “the ministry may come up with a national planning standard to govern physical development in the country”.
He added that fully acceptable, practical and functional instrument for the management of physical development activities in Nigeria would emerge.
Umar Sanusi-Dange, who is a Controller in the ministry, said the workshop would provide a great opportunity to bring planning standards for ensuring orderly, coordinated and efficient development.
Town planners and experts were drawn from the Northern segment and were
encouraged to be committed and make the programme a great success.
This is to attract maximum benefits in their career, improve efficiency and productivity.
