Abuja: The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, along with the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), has expressed concerns regarding the inadequate implementation and domestication of the 1992 Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Law. The concerns were raised at the National Colloquium on the Implementation of the URP Law, organized by the NITP in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the URP law, officially recognized as CAP 138 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, has faced setbacks due to its non-domestication by various states. Ahmed Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, emphasized that the law was a significant reform intended to replace the obsolete 1946 Town and Country Planning Law, which no longer met the needs of a rapidly urbanizing nation.
The Minister highlighted the law’s original intent to provide a framework for orderly land use and development across all government levels, aiming for coordinated physical planning and the creation of functional and livable human settlements across Nigeria. Despite its ambitious goals, the law’s full potential has remained unrealized for over three decades, with many states failing to enact the necessary enabling laws or operationalize its provisions, leading to uncoordinated urban growth and inadequate infrastructure.
Dangiwa pointed out that limited public awareness, weak development control mechanisms, and the evolving challenges of urbanization and climate change necessitate updates to the 1992 legislation. Under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Ministry aims to revitalize urban and regional planning as a key element of national development.
Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, represented by Deputy Malam Faruk Jobe, noted that Katsina is among the few states that have fully implemented the law’s provisions, resulting in a structured and accountable planning system. The state’s government has invested significantly in urban renewal projects and development control, with plans for new master plans in several cities by 2026.
The President of NITP, Dr. Ogbonna Chime, urged all government levels to implement the 1992 URP Law fully to support sustainable national development and orderly settlement growth. He stressed the importance of mutual cooperation among government tiers to address challenges like unregulated urban expansion and inadequate infrastructure.
Chime commended states reviewing their urban and regional planning laws and expressed optimism that the colloquium’s discussions would lead to improved national development planning and effective urban governance.