The Permanent Secretary, Plateau Ministry of Housing, Mr Alfred Datoel, has called for evolvement of  policies that would help  combat the challenges of  increasing slums within towns and cities across the country.

Datoel made the call at the ninth  meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Jos, on Monday.

The Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH)  Mrs Boade Akinola said this in a statement in Abuja.

The four-day meeting has the theme,  “Housing Delivery in the COVID -19 Era and Beyond : The Strategies for Affordability and Accessibility.”

The meeting  is an annual meeting of stakeholders in the built industry being organised by the FMWH, whose mandate among others is provision of affordable housing for Nigerians.

Datoel said that the importance of developing slums to  towns and cities and their proper management could not be overemphasized .

He  urged all the participants  to come up with ideas for implementation of slums development  by practitioners in the public and private spheres of lives with a view to improving the standard of living of the average Nigerian.

He stressed on the need to focus on  Land, Housing and Urban Development which he described as the life wire of all towns and cities of the world.

“We know that no land, no house, no comfort and security of life no urban development no beauty of towns and cities,” Datoel said.
He added that  new ideas and policies generated from the meeting would combat the challenges of  increasing slums in the country.

He further appealed to government to implement very important resolutions which could have good bearing on improving the quality of life.

The Director Planning, Research and Statistics, FMWH, Mr Olajide  Ode-Martins in  his remarks disclosed that  the council was the highest policy making organ of the Housing Sector in the country.

He noted that it affords stakeholders in the sector an avenue to deliberate on issues concerning the growth of the sector.
Participants at the meeting include: Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries for lands, housing and urban development, General Managers of housing corporations, Surveyor -Generals, professional and regulatory agencies(NAN)