The Executive Director of Africa’s leading Housing Advocacy civil society organisation Bar. Festus Adebayo has charged the Association of Women Town Planners in Nigeria (AWTPN) to prioritize gender inclusion in urban planning and to actively promote and support women’s participation in the sector.
Adebayo who made this call during a courtesy visit to him by the leadership of the association at his office, underscored the need for aggressive advocacy programs and collaborative efforts.
Demonstrating his dedication, he pledged unwavering support to ensure the association’s vision thrives, affirming that his doors are always open for ongoing dialogue.
He said “We would like to encourage you to attract more women to this profession…Also, look for a way to celebrate and honour your seniors in the profession, so that they can know they have great women to take over from them.
Read Also: CORBON Launches Builders Management Portal for Identifying Professional Builders and others
“The time has come for us to encourage our women to go into town planning. I also want to encourage you to do more advocacy to create awareness. I must also this opportunity to thank the chairman of FCT chapter TPL ( Mrs) Lami Ayuba and the great women that are here today.
“I must also thank you for your initiative to go into slum upgrading, we will be interested in supporting you any day, as far as it has to do with bringing sanity to development in the cities. We are already receiving the support of the Fedéral Ministry of Housing and the World Bank in this area. I want to assure you that we will do everything to support you at no cost, instead, we’ll provide financial support for you.
The national chairman of the Association, Mrs. Rekiyat A. Fache, a former special assistant to the former minister of state for FCT expressed profound appreciation for HDAN’s significant contributions to the housing and urban development sector, highlighting the purpose of their visit, which was to intimate the organisations of their agenda as new executives and to seek the organization support towards them. Also, Mrs. Fache revealed ambitious plans to expand the association’s reach to all 36 states of the federation.
Mrs Fache stated “We appreciate you greatly, our honorary town planner, we believe in your capacity, strength and wisdom and that is why we are here to collaborate with your organization because with that we know we can move our association forward to greater heights.
“We are going to embark on aggressive advocacy, and we hope to extend our tentacles to the 36 states of the federation and not just FCT.”
This collaborative effort between the Association of Women Town Planners and Fesadeb Communications Ltd marks a crucial milestone in bridging gaps and fostering synergy between public and private sectors for the betterment of urban development initiatives nationwide, with a particular focus on gender inclusion.
