The Kogi State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has asked governments at every level to put inclusive urban planning, sustainable housing and people-centred urban regeneration at the top of their agendas, according to Kogi Reports. The chapter's chairman, Tpl. Sani Daniel, made the call in a statement on Saturday marking World Cities Day 2026, which is observed each year on October 31. This year's theme was "Regenerating the City: Adequate Housing for All."
Daniel said the day was a chance to take stock of the difficulties facing cities and settlements. Among them, he listed insufficient housing, unplanned urban spread, infrastructure shortfalls, environmental damage and the rising vulnerability of city residents.
Why it matters
The institute backed its case with figures from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), which it said show that as many as 3.4 billion people around the world do not have adequate housing, while more than 1.1 billion live in informal settlements and slums. According to Kogi Reports, Daniel said those numbers make clear why governments need development policies that are both sustainable and inclusive.
The warning carries particular weight in Kogi State, where the institute says several factors are converging at once. Population growth, movement from rural areas into towns, industrialisation and expanding commercial activity are all putting pressure on land, housing and infrastructure, Daniel said.
The towns under pressure
Daniel named Lokoja, the state capital, as one of the places feeling the strain, along with Anyigba, Okene, Kabba, Ankpa, Ajaokuta and Obajana. In these centres, he said, the pressure has fed a set of related problems: settlements that grew without planning, housing that is both scarce and too expensive for many residents, and building that has crept onto road setbacks and drainage channels. Poor waste management and construction in environmentally sensitive areas were also on his list.
The institute argued that urban regeneration should mean more than knocking down buildings, laying roads and tidying up appearances. A proper regeneration programme, it said, would also cover upgraded infrastructure, rehabilitation of existing housing, environmental improvement, economic revival and the delivery of essential services. It stressed that vulnerable residents should be protected through such programmes, that displacement should be kept to a minimum and that people's livelihoods should be sustained.
What the institute wants from the state
The NITP directed a series of requests to the Kogi State Government. First, it called for urban master plans for Lokoja and other fast-growing towns to be prepared, reviewed and actually implemented. It also pressed for full urban renewal programmes, policies that make housing affordable, tighter controls on development and adequate institutional backing for the agencies responsible for physical planning.
The institute further urged the government to fold climate resilience and environmental sustainability into urban development policy. Specific measures it listed include better drainage, management of flood risk, erosion control, waste management and protection of environmentally sensitive areas, with Mount Patti singled out.
Beyond government action, the NITP called for residents to have a greater say in planning decisions and for stronger partnerships linking government institutions, professional bodies, academic institutions and private developers.
The institute restated its own commitment to sustainable urban development and said qualified, registered town planners should be part of drafting, carrying out and assessing urban policies and projects. It asked ministries, departments, agencies, local councils and private developers to treat physical planning as an essential tool for orderly development, coordination of infrastructure and protection of the environment.
The statement came as part of the chapter's observance of World Cities Day, an annual occasion used by planning bodies to draw attention to the state of urban life. Kogi Reports published its account of the statement on Sunday.
What to watch is whether the Kogi State Government responds to the institute's requests with concrete steps, particularly on master plans for Lokoja and the other named towns.
