FG to Upgrade Makoko, Gishiri Slums in Lagos, Abuja 

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, has reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government to transforming Nigeria’s informal settlements, like Makoko in Lagos and Gishiri in Abuja into dignified, liveable communities.

Darma made this commitment during a visit to his office in Abuja by the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP), led by its National President, Dr. Ogbonna Chime.

The minister identified specific areas in Nigeria, such as Makoko in Lagos state, Gishiri in Abuja, some settlements in Kano and Port Harcourt that require upgrading from slum conditions.

He pledged that the ministry’s forthcoming urban development policy would prioritise upgrading these areas to make them habitable for the people living there.

Acknowledging that a regional and urban development law enacted in 1992 has yet to be implemented, Darma committed to thoroughly reviewing the law, noting that  collaboration with the Regional Development Ministry would be essential in determining how to achieve full implementation.

He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to utilising indigenous consultants exclusively, describing this as a deliberate strategy to drive employment, transfer skills, and grow local capacity in the built environment sector. 

“The ministry already trained individually about 2000 of them to get skills in the built environment, and these young people are all over Nigeria applying what they learnt”, he stated.

Addressing the challenge of replacing retired staff earlier mentioned by the guests from NITP, Darma called on professionals and public servants to embrace innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), noting that technology would increasingly shape the future of work.