TPL Olutoyin Ayinde
The National President of Nigerian Institute of , Town Planners, Town Planner Olutoyin Ayinde is charging town planners to pursue uprightness to enable the profession remain upstanding.
Olutoyin stated this in Umuahia during the investiture of the 11th State chapter chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, NITP, Abia State, TPL Stephen Chukwudi Nwazue held at Unique life Continental Hotel and Suits, Umuahia, Abia State.
He charged the new executive to bring value and vision to help in furthering the aims and objectives of the institute.
TPL Ayinde noted that leadership in professionalism requires the demonstration of high sense of integrity by every member of the executive, hence, he urged the new executive that the institute needs leaders who can confront evil practices, those who can set right the deviant professionals, leaders who can stand against sharp practices and would always tell the truth.
He also urged the new chairman to go and do new things, because “he has the opportunity now and not to be shy to break away from old habits while embracing principles of good governance”.
According to him, “leadership is a prime issue in the present times and the institute needs leaders who are responsive, responsible, transparent and accountable to their members”. It is government that develop interest in planning, then use town planners as the vehicle to achieve their planning policies”.
TPL Nwazue
Chairman of the occasion, High Chief Jerry Onyemaechi ably represented by Engineer Enyinnaya Agwu pointed out that a city without town planners cannot exist, adding that the institute has helped the society a lot.
He congratulated TPL Nwazue and encouraged him to deliver on his mandate, adding that the institute bestowed maximum trust on him, which prompted them to vote him into power.
In thier separate speeches, Abia State commissioner for lands, Survey and Urban planning, Dr Chidi Onwuchuruba and commissioner for documentation and strategic communications, Mr Ugochukwu Emezuo enjoined politicians and stakeholders to obey the instructions of town planners to help the development of Abia State.
Ugochukwu Emezue
Dr Onwuchuruba particularly cautioned people to allow town planners do their job, adding that the cities cannot be enjoyed if not properly planned and frowned at the attitude of some political appointees who use their position to harass town planners from doing their job, stressing that if the society is not planned, the masses are heading to crash.
He condemned the threats meted to town planning authority workers, including the destruction of their tools.
In his investiture lecture, the NIPT chairman, Delta State, TPL Professor Arthur Essaghah who lectured on the topic “Town Planning as an Instrument for Promoting Economic Prosperity in Cities” said the framework for achieving economic prosperity in cities are through town planning by government.
Professor Essaghah pointed out that planning has fundamental been associated with setting utopia goals and objectives in urban land use planning history.
He described the city as the engine of growth and development. The University Don stated that town planning provides vehicles for growth to take place and control the land.
He opined that the starting point to implement this framework is the formulation of a democratic model of decision making regarding land use control and management issues, that is the governance of urban land use must be democratized.
For town planning to promote economic prosperity, he recommended that the local government planning must become very lucrative, ran local governments cities as entrepreneurial development which is already working in Lagos.
He further recommended that cities must enthrone meritocracy, while the central administration must digitize their activities.
