Widening the coast, the Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC) has inducted 296 newly registered town planners into the practice of urban and regional planning in the country.
The new inductees bring the total registered town planners in Nigeria till date to 4,963.
Speaking during the induction ceremony, which took place in Abuja, Adamawa, Delta, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan and Uyo, concurrently, TOPREC’s President, Isyaku M. Kura, tasked the inductees on the need to always uphold ethical standards and professionalism, saying the occasion marked a new beginning of their professional life aimed at preparing them for the challenges of practice.
According to him, the induction ceremony was essentially a statutory function aimed at sustaining and broadening the professional knowledge and technical skills required for improved capacity throughout practitioners’ working life and interaction with the outside world.
Isyaku, who was represented by one of the council members in Lagos, Mr Moses Ogunleye, told the new inductees that their activities should reflect the thinking of the new world they have found themselves in, urging them to build their confidence to contribute more effectively in resolving serious urban challenges the environment.
Kura said: “You are coming into a profession that is visible and delicate in a way. Every decision, therefore, must be widely engaging and carefully thought out before execution.
“You also need to apply the TOPREC ACT at all times, Code of Conduct and practices regulations in all service delivery to citizens and more importantly in the dispensation of any assignment, if you are to effectively and efficiently function as a registered town planner.”
He also tasked them with the need to improve themselves through continuous learning.
In his speech, the president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Mr Olutoyin Ayinde, said the new inductees are expected to act as registered town planners, urging them to reflect professionalism in all they do.
According to him, the institute would be looking up to them as the future of the profession to demonstrate a high level of competence and integrity in their newly acquired professional life and status.
In her goodwill message, the first female town planner in Nigeria, Mrs Catherine George, tasked the newly registered town planners with honesty, integrity and professionalism.
In his lecture titled: “The Prospects of Young Planners in Emerging Economy: Four Challenges”, Lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Professor Timothy Gyuse, listed challenges of technology, drowning in an information flood, the danger of protectionism and relevance as some of the confrontations the young planners would face.
To stay on top, the university lecturer urged young planners to embrace a life of proactive learning, adapting and improvising to stay in step with the changing practice environment; tap into various industry’s opportunities outside government service, and seek cooperation and competence through partnership to give the society a better living environment.
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