A town planning consultant, Mr Olaide Afolabi, has called on the Federal Government to formulate policies that will facilitate infrastructure development in the property industry.
Afolabi, also the President of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), made the call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, recently.
According to him, investment in infrastructure will make the productive sector to thrive and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), that will create more jobs in the country.
He said that a critical challenge to governance was how to make housing adequate and sustainable.
“It has been observed that rise in population and spontaneous increase in size of most cities in the country have led to acute shortage of decent and affordable dwellings.
“This has led to diverse urban problems ranging from overcrowding, deplorable environment and living conditions, inadequate infrastructure, homelessness and several others.
“There is a need for good governance through the application of appropriate development strategies, that could enhance optimal utilisation of existing resources.
“There is a need for renewed collaboration and commitment among the stakeholders in housing and urban development in Nigeria,” he said.
The ATOPCON President noted that a responsive housing policy must be in consonance with the existing national and socio-economic realities of the country, to achieve sustainable development.
“In this regard, relevant urban and housing development strategies should be identified and integrated to form part of the existing housing policies,” he said.
Afolabi said the existing policies should be reviewed and reinvigorated to ensure adequate infrastructure development alongside housing delivery and the overall urban development.