The Nathaniel Atebije Foundation for Planning Advocacy (NAFPA), has called for immediate national attention to the deepening crisis in urban and regional planning across Nigeria.
NAFPA founder, Nathaniel Atebije, made the call during a news conference heralding the Maiden Annual Lecture on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Abuja.
Atebije warned that continued neglect of structured development threatened sustainability, safety, and human dignity.
Atebije Foundation Lecture in Abuja
According to him, urban planning or physical planning is not a luxury but a necessity in places where people want to grow sustainably.
“When planning is ignored, cities become disordered, unsafe, inefficient and unjust. Unfortunately, this trajectory is the experience across many parts of Nigeria today.”
He highlighted urban and regional planning challenges to include neglect of physical planning for human settlements, weak enforcement of existing plans, impunity in land use violations, marginalisation of indigenous planning consultants, destruction of green areas in Abuja, and inadequate urban infrastructure.
He said many towns and settlements continue to expand without approved layouts, resulting in chaotic growth patterns that were difficult and expensive to correct.
He added that even in areas where master-plans existed particularly in Abuja, implementation remained weak.
Atebije cited inadequate manpower, poor funding, and lack of political will as key factors undermining enforcement, allowing violations to go unchecked.
He highlighted a growing trend of development on restricted lands, including floodplains and green areas, often driven by political interference and profit motives.
According to him, in Abuja, this has led to the steady erosion of the city’s original master-plan, once designed to reflect a balance between urban development and environmental preservation.
”Particular alarming is the destruction of designated green spaces in the capital city, making Abuja to lose its ecological zones to residential and commercial developments, raising concerns about environmental sustainability and urban livability.
”The implications of these are far-reaching, and include declining living standards, increased environmental risks, housing shortages, and reduced economic productivity in urban centers.
“Preservation of green areas in Abuja should be noted by the immediate reversal of converted green spaces and other violated land uses, restoration and protection of existing parks and open spaces and strict adherence to the Abuja Master Plan,” he added.
He also called on governments at all levels, private real estate developers and stakeholders to enforce mandatory preparation of master-plans and other levels of physical development planning.
He said this would enable all settlements and spaces have approved physical development plans.
“Government should prioritise planning as a precondition for development, legislating all physical development plans into law in order to make them binding and difficult to change or violate at will.
“Government should also strengthen development control by recruiting and training qualified planning personnel and providing adequate resources for enforcement.
“Planning authorities must be protected from political interference, with enforcement of sanctions against violations instituted,’’ he said.
Atebije called for the promotion of indigenous professionals, urging authorities to give preference to qualified Nigerian consultants in planning projects in compliance with the Executive Order No. 5.
He also called for institutional coordination through clear definition of roles among planning agencies and improved collaboration between federal, state, and local authorities.
He further called for the establishment of the National Urban and Regional Planning Commission without delay to enhance coordination.
He said that the Office of the Town Planner General of the Federation be established to focus the executive on plan implementation and ensure compliance with standards and professional practice regulations.