By Josephine Oguntoyinbo

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Ondo State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Gbenga Olaniyi has reiterated his commitment to ensuring the safety of building constructions and enhancing internally generated revenue.

To achieve this, he advocated collaboration between Town Planning Consultants working with prospective developers and the Ministry.

The commissioner made the call at the maiden meeting with the Consultants convened at his office in Akure, reiterated Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s urban renewal program.

This initiative aims to modernise physical planning, enhance urban renewal, and enforce building control measures, ultimately preventing building collapses and bolstering internally generated revenue for further infrastructural development in the State.

Olaniyi noted that as stakeholders in the urbanization of towns and cities as well as the general development of the State, the Consultants should always avail the Ministry with their professional advice in order to meet its obligations to the government and the general public.

He enjoined them and members of their professional body to continue to support the present administration in its quest at providing more dividends of democracy and making the State a better place to live.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Chief Bunmi Alade, appreciated the Consultants as partners in progress with whom the Ministry should engage in regular interactive meetings to achieve its mandate and perform its statutory role in line with the best global practices.

To achieve the safety of building constructions in the State, the Consultants advised the Ministry to provide its monitoring and enforcement department with necessary equipment so as to regularly monitor and enforce compliance with the development permits approved by the Ministry.

They also enjoined the Ministry to reclassify developers and building projects and to review its fee order as a means of generating more revenue for the state government.

The meeting was attended by all the Directors and other senior Officers of the Ministry.