The Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has lamented the inability of both federal and subnationals to implement the Urban and Regional Planning (URP) law over 33 years after.

President, Nigeria Institute of Town Planners, TPL. Dr. Ogbonna Chime made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday at a national colloquium on the implementation of the 1992 URP Law.

He said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria promulgated Decree 88 of 1992, later named the URP Law CAP. 138 LFN; 2004 to replace the 1946 Town and Country Planning Law of Nigeria which was a Colonial Legacy. An amendment was made to the URP Law in 1999 by the Abdu Salam Abubakar Administration.

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“However, the NITP is concerned about the implementation of the Law because of the far-reaching implications of non- adherence to its provisions on national development planning and efficient resource management in Nigeria.

“Please permit me to recall that the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP) sequel to its official recognition by Decree No.3 of 1988 made representations to the then Honorable Minister of works and Housing around 1990 and called for a review of the extant 1946 law.

“This was with a view to integrate physical development planning at different tiers of government, create appropriate institutional machinery for orderly settlement growth and development and evolve a realistic land use procedures commensurate with the pace of national development.