Environment
UN-Habitat And Abia Metro Cities
The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, at his Abuja lodge, recently, played host to a team of Envioronmental and Town Planning experts from the UN-Habitat African Regional Office in Kenya, led by Dr Naison Maginza Mutizwa, the UN- Habitat African Regional Director. In an information released after the meeting, by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, the thrust of the meeting was in line with the development of some metro-cities in Abia State like, Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia. Also from the CPS’ report, the Abia State Government has already provided the part funding towards the project which he said “is a collaborative effort of the Government of Abia State and the UN- Habitat.”
With the benefit of hindsight,the United Nations Human Settlement Programme, also known as the UN- Habitat, is the UN program for human settlements and sustainable urban developments established since 1978, as an outcome of the first UN sustainable urban development (Habitat 1) held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976. Its head office is in Nairobi Kenya.
The UN-Habitat is a United Nations agency that works towards a sustainable urbanisation of human settlements. Apart from her primary roles in Urban planning and design , UN-Habitat, through one of its 3 units, the Regional and Metropolitan Planning Unit(RMPU), also plays key roles in National Urban policies-from “pre-feasibility diagnostic development” to the implementation, monitoring and tracking process. RMPU also helps the regional, metropolitan and city regions in the planning and development of “corridors”, “clusters” and systems of cities as well as the promotion of a green economy, smart city approach and urban- rural linkages, not excluding the spatial planning framework at metropolitan cities.
Indeed urbanisation presents some of the most significant opportunities as well as challenges in today’s world. Although cities are centres for economic growth and developments it, however, faces demographic, environmental, economic and social challenges that can mar the esctatics of any city if not properly managed.
The collaboration of the Abia State Government and the UN- Habitat is, therefore, timely and in tandem with the United Nations Agenda for sustainable development and sustainable development goal 11, which includes “to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” It will provide the desired opportunity to redesign or re-modify the cities of Aba and Umuahia in order to cushion the adverse effects of urbanization.
The adoption of the new Urban Agenda by the UN in 2016 has resulted in national, state and local governments, around the world, embarking on a transformative path towards making SDG11 a reality. That is the path Governor Ikpeazu has taken.
Apart from the way-forward meeting with the UN-Habitat team, Governor Ikpeazu has also, just few days ago, re-affirmed his determination to change the face of Aba and Umuahia.Tough decisions like procuring waste disposal compactors, declaring a state of emergency on Envioronmental Sanitation in Aba and Umuahia,unbundling of ASEPA and the sack of the non-performing GM of ASEPA,Mr Apugo, are pointers to the fact that Governor Ikpeazu is committed to transforming Abia State.
By meaningfully engaging all stakeholders and taken the lead in sanitising Abia, Governor Ikpeazu has proven, once again, that he has the ability to harness transformational changes that are capable of improving the lives of the inhabitants of Aba and Umuahia metropolis.
Regardless, Abia State, in many context, lack the capacity and the tools needed to address all the challenges posed by urbanisation, hence, the expertise that, a renowed International Agency, UN-Habitat, provides.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.