The Nigeria Institute of Town Planning (NITP) in Ogun State has issued an advisory cautioning residents against embarking on building projects without consulting experts in the built industry.

The warning came as a measure to prevent haphazard development and promote sustainable growth in the state.

According to the institute, building without proper consultation undermines the state's development, leading to potential environmental and structural hazards.

The NITP chairman, Adefelala Sogbesan, gave the advice during the NITP's 2024 Annual General Meeting in Abeokuta, where key state executives, in a panel discussion, pointed out the importance of streamlined efforts to drive sustainable development initiatives in the state.

The theme of this year's AGM is 'Cross Sector Collaboration in The Production And Implementation of Development Plans: Imperative Of Synergy Among MDAS'.

The institute also stressed the need for cohesive collaboration among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) operating in the state to ensure comprehensive physical development.

"I want to advise residents to consult professionals. In this part of the world, we are not consulting professionals. For example, you want to buy land to build a school. Instead of just buying the land where that scheme is meant for residential, after doing all the necessary things you now realise that you are building at the wrong place because you didn't consult professionals," he said.

The Commissioner for Housing, Jamiu Omoniyi, while speaking with journalists at the event, said all government ministries, agencies and departments have been working in synergy to ensure development across the state.

"Some build a whole estate without any form of communication with all the different arms of government that make up the controls in terms of building, in terms of planning. So all these things create different challenges for us as different bureaus and most times we are firefighting and this is where we have problems."

Also, the Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning, Tunji Odunlami, warned that building without following the terms of planning would endanger the development of the state.

He noted that his ministry will continue to work with other ministries and agencies for the implementation of the state developmental plan.