Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has assured of the commitment of his administration towards ensuring safe and well planned towns and cities in the state.
Okowa said issues of building collapse, poor land development control process and disorderly development should be a thing of the past in the state. To this end, he has assured that his administration would implement the state’s Urban and Regional Planning Law in order to reduce the challenges associated with unplanned cities.
The governor gave the assurance last week when members of Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA), Delta State chapter, led by its chairman, Andy Imafidon, paid him a courtesy call in Asaba.
The governor stated: “We will look at the implementation of urban planning law so as to give bite to our land development control process and check poor construction work and issues of collapse buildings.”
Okowa said his administration would continue to partner the NIA because the institute plays critical roles in the development process of towns and cities.
He reiterated, “You (NIA) are an important arm to the development of any nation, because you play important roles in the design of our buildings and cities; we will continue to count on you to play your roles so that we will have safer buildings.”
Okowa at the occasion said he was not in haste to appoint permanent secretaries, observing that while they must be appointed on merit, it should be done based on available vacancies.
Earlier, Imafidon said the visit was to intimate the governor of the planned hosting of the NIA national council meeting which would coincide with the organization of the 2016 Archi-Delta Expo, stating that the exposition would bring together building material manufacturers, developers, specifiers and stakeholders in the construction industry.
He commended Governor Okowa for recording a lot of successes in the construction sector despite the “current economic recession in the nation.”
