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ABUJA  – The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has renewed calls for a strict return to Abuja’s original Master Plan, warning that continued disregard for professional urban planning could push the nation’s capital into the same cycle of infrastructural decay and chaotic sprawl that overwhelmed Lagos, Nigeria’s Chairperson of the FCT chapter, Mrs. Queen Philips, said in Abuja that the only way to restore order and sustainability to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is to realign current development activities with the city’s founding blueprint. She noted that Abuja’s creeping disorder — marked by illegal constructions, blocked drainages, and haphazard land allocations — mirrors the early warning signs Lagos once ignored, leading to chronic congestion, flooding, and unplanned settlements. 

“Abuja was designed to correct the planning chaos that Lagos suffered,” Philips said. “But what we see today is that the same mistakes are being repeated — land is being allocated without professional input, drainages are being blocked, and buildings are springing up in zones originally reserved for public use or green space.” 

She identified parts of Asokoro, Guzape, and Trademore Estate as flashpoints where deviation from the master plan has created flood-prone areas and serious environmental risks. Philips stressed that expert-guided planning must again take centre stage in the FCT’s development process, adding that elite interests and political interference have sidelined professional advice, leading to rising vulnerability and disorder. 

Abuja, she warned, is facing growing stress from rapid population increase, crumbling infrastructure, informal settlements, and climate-induced threats — challenges that can only be managed through a faithful return to the capital’s design principles. 

The institute, she disclosed, has written to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, seeking a formal meeting to present professional guidance on restoring the city’s master plan and ensuring that current infrastructure drives align with it. 

Philips commended Wike’s ongoing investments in road and infrastructure projects but maintained that planning professionals must be fully involved to guarantee long-term sustainability. “Infrastructure without planning only postpones disaster,” she said, warning that short-term fixes cannot replace a coherent, long-term urban vision. 

She further emphasised that a truly modern and smart city must serve its people. “Technology should serve people, not drive exclusion,” Philips added, urging inclusive and sustainable urban development anchored on professional planning principles.