Abuja — Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday said it would embark on the development of the satellite towns to avoid erection of illegal structures which would later be demolished by it.

Minister of State for FCT, Chuka Odom, who gave the hint at the Investiture of Chief Napoleon Osayande as the 18th President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) in Abuja, yesterday said if the satellite towns were not developed properly, illegal structures would litter the city and distort the original master plan of FCT.

He said that the present administration of FCT would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the face-lifting of the capital city started by the past administration of FCT under Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is sustained. He said the decision was to avoid further displacement of households in the territory.

"Already, you are aware that Abuja had a master plan. That is to develop the areas they call the satellite towns. Our challenge is to ensure that as we bring in infrastructure to these satellite towns, we also adhere strictly to the master plan.

"This is because, if we don't do this, obviously in the next couple of years, 10 to 15 years down the line, development would reach these satellite towns, and we don't want to have incidences of demolition any more. We are ensuring strict adherence to the master plan even in the planning and execution of projects in the satellite cities," the minister said.

The minister called on town planners and other relevant stakeholders to join hands with government in its task to rebuild the capital territory, adding that "nobody will come from another country to develop Abuja for us. It is the task of all of us to develop it".

Earlier in his inaugural speech, the new president of NITP, Chief Osanyande, had said his administration would among other things focus on "attaining the vision and mission statement of the founding fathers of the institute within the broad framework of the human and infrastructural resources available in these bodies".

Other targets of the institute according to the new NITP boss, include to encourage the greater involvement in international bodies particularly the Common Wealth Association of Planners (CAP) and promote greater interaction with sister professional bodies in West African, set up a library in the secretariat where all conference papers, MCPDP materials, journals and other relevant research materials will be professionally catalogued and accessed easily as well as set up a committee towards ensuring town planners are given national honours by the Federal government of Nigeria.

According to him, his administration would not only set up a committee to draw up a-10-year master plan for the advancement of the town planning profession, but would also take a critical look at the 2003 NITP approved scale of fees for consultant town planners and set in motion mechanisms for its adoption by the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Urban Development.

He called on President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to always give priority attention to the plight of Nigerian town planners in order to achieve the developmental programmes, which the administration he leads has already embarked upon.