By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA) has called on members of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners to help in tackling the continued abuses of the Abuja’s Master Plan, by heeding to its professional ethics.
Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah when he addressed members of the Institute during a roundtable discussion on ‘Land Use Change and Challenges of Abuja Master Plan Implementation’ to mark the annual week.
Attah said that Town Planners’ roles were very critical to the development and sustainance of a growing capital city, like Abuja, and must be taken very seriously.
He noted that the integrity of the Abuja’s Master Plan wouldn’t have been gravelly altered, if the Town Planners had remained faithful to their professional ethics.
Attah explained that FCT Ministers have given ample opportunities to the Coordinator of Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Umar Shaibu and the Director Development Control, Muktar Galadima who are members of the Institute, to freely work for the preservation of the Master plan.
While he blamed most of the contraventions of Abuja’s urban and regional planning, illegalities and even indiscriminate Change of land use in Abuja to Town Planners who compromised standards, he vowed that the administration would remain committed to fighting every threat to its development agenda.
Attah said, ” Town planners’ roles are very critical and FCTA takes them as key components. If alterations will happen in the city, they are the ones that may be approached by those who want to distort the plans.
“FCTA is making the appeal to them, to stand by their professional ethics and also see themselves as being key to Abuja project”.
