According to a situation report from the police, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters on Sunday, the incident occurred around 1:22 p.m. when a team comprising police and civil defence personnel was escorting Mr. Gu Xiaowu, a Chinese expatriate working with Rilix Mining Company at Isanlu. ArticlesRead More
Hot Source
- Hot News
- November 4, 2025
- 3 views
- 3 minutes Read
‘Ogun Committed to Sustainable Urban Devt’
‘Ogun Committed to Sustainable Urban Devt’
Sunday Okobi
Ogun State Government has reiterated its commitment to promoting and actualising its vision of a sustainable and safe environment and urban development through the advancement of safe and enduring building practices to ensure orderliness and a good living environment aimed at solid urban and rural development plans.
The state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olatunji Odunlami, disclosed this in his message to commemorate the 2025 World Habitat Day in Ogun State.
According to Odunlami, in a statement, first Monday of October, last month, has been set aside by the United Nations through the UN-Habitat to draw attention to the many challenges facing human settlements, especially the urban areas, and find solutions to them.
The commissioner stated that the yearly focus on human settlements was as a result of the projection that by 2050, the world population would reach 9.8 billion human beings, and nearly 70 percent of which would live in urban areas, which according to him, could lead to inadequate and sub-standard housing, lack of jobs, high crime rate, inadequate waste management, inadequate physical and social infrastructure, facilities and services among others.
He said: “This year’s theme: ‘Urban Crisis Response’, is a continuation of the dialogue, fact-finding and solution-proffering efforts of the UN-Habitat, which started in 1986.
“The general objective of this yearly celebration is to continue to remind us that we are individually and collectively responsible for the urban crisis, and we are therefore also individually and collectively responsible for finding the solutions. Every one of us has a part to play in these efforts, leaving no one behind.
He advised the Nigerian public not to build houses without getting a planning permit and building approval from the authorities; desist from building structures, including shanties, on road setbacks and drainage channels; and stop dumping refuse on the roads and drainages, encouraging all to plant trees and flowers in their environment.
Meanwhile, Bamidele Badejo, a professor of Geography and Regional Planning, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, who featured recently on the OGTV New Dawn programme in commemoration of the World Habitat Day, has called on the government to incorporate town planning professionals into Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government to help in planning environmentally.
Also speaking on the programme, Mr. Fatai Adefala, Director of the state Fire Service, maintained that the safety of lives and properties, as well as the promotion of healthy community sanitation, is everybody’s business, and not for the government alone, encouraging everyone to do their bit to keep the environment safe.
Sunday Okobi Ogun State Government has reiterated its commitment to promoting and actualising its vision of a sustainable and safe environment and urban development through the advancement of safe and
