Nigerian Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has urged the Town Planners Registration Council (TOPREC), as a core custodian of the environment to continue in its pursuit of excellence so that thoroughbred professionals are groomed.
Fashola spoke at the official commissioning of the Council’s office building, Thursday in Abuja according to the statement released by Ministry’s Spokesperson, Blessing Lere-Adams.
The Minister who was represented by the Minister of State, Hon. Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, stated that sticking to core mandate of breeding professionals as Town Planners, would help tackle present-day challenges in the nation’s built industry.
He said: “How our towns and cities can be transformed and better managed in a robust, harmonized and wholesome manner to make them more livable, productive, secure, sustainable, and become centers of excellence”, should be your responsibility to achieve.
The Minister commended the Council for the historic stride, saying that the Management and Staff of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing join their voices with others to felicitate with TOPREC on this historic occasion.
He added that, it speaks volume of their commitment to advancing the cause of the built environment and installing sustainable development in Nigeria.
“Undoubtedly, with this befitting structure now in place, the former challenges of inadequate and none functional operating office space for the staff and Council Members have been resolved.
“Henceforth it will be better positioned to focus on upscaling its primary constitutional role of regulating the training and practice of Urban and Regional Planning for the benefit of the Built Environment in Nigeria“, he said.
Earlier, the President of the Town Planners Registration Council, Tpl Isyaku Kura said that the Office building being commissioned marks a significant milestone in the history of the Council and Town Planning in Nigeria as it would provide a decent and conducive environment for their duties.
“A building of this magnitude would not have come without foresight, commitment and discipline,” he said.
He stated that the Town Planners Registration Council was established by the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria CAP T7, LFN 2004 (Decree No. 3 of 1988) to regulate and control the practice of the profession of Physical Planning in its entirety.
Accordingly, he explained that the activities of the council are geared towards engendering functional, productive and sustainable physical planning activities in the country.
While thanking the Honourable Minister for this feat, he pledged to lead the Council as a front burner in regulating and controlling town planning activities in line with the Council’s mandate, adding that the new office complex would provide a conducive atmosphere to do that. It was a very colorful commissioning that was well attended.