Nigeria Institute of Architects ( NIA) has commended the Governor of Enugu state ,Dr. Peter Mbah on his administration ‘s infrastructural development in the state, urging support from the state government.
National President of the Institute, Architect Mobolaji Adeniyi gave the commendation on Friday, when she led a delegation of the members of the Institute on a courtesy visit to governor Mbah in his office in Government House,Enugu.
The 30th National President of the Institute said, Enugu has always been a city that she loves to come to.” I love to come to Enugu I’m very impressed by the remarkable progress you’ve made in infrastructure development in this state. The roads, the bridges, and public buildings you’ve constructed are really testament to your commitment to transforming the state.
Gov Mbah
“We want to commend most especially your vision in transforming Enugu State in hospitality and tourism project.This is exemplified by the breaking of the multiple jinx of the International Conference Centre and the Presidential Hotel. We were here many years ago and it was such a heartache to see abandoned projects like that.
“But more recently when I came, I was proudly taken around, and it’s such a privilege to see your efforts in all of the beautiful conditions of this historic project. Congratulations”, she said.
Continuing, the NIA National President also commended Governor Mbah on his massive development in the educational , health and water sectors, saying the construction of 260 Smart schools, the 260 Primary Health Care Centers and education infrastructure are brilliant, noting that the projects were people -oriented .
Architect Adeniyi , who is the second female national president in the 65 years existence of the institute, also commended Governor Mbah on the construction of the three CNG bus modern terminals, urban renewal and beautification across the state
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Your Excellency, we commend your vision,” she said .
She lamented that many young Architects in Enugu state were not employed in the state civil services and appealed to the governor to assist the Institute in employing more of their colleagues..
“So we would’ like to see them being employed in ministries like Ministry of Works, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. .it’s very important because there’s an urgent need for capacity building. We must grow our own local talent there.. Enugu State has some of the best schools of architecture.
So ,we need to see our young architects that are being trained in Enugu State being employed,
“If we’re training so many young minds, brilliant minds, we need to have places where they can operate”.She said..
NIA delegation on courtesy visit
The national president also appealed to the governor to engage young architects in the infrastructural development and maintenance in the state.
Architect Adeyini appealed to Governor Mbah to allocate a piece of land to the Enugu state chapter of the institute for construction of their secretariat.She said Enugu state had produced many past presidents including the former Vice President of Nigeria,Dr. Alex Ekwueme. She disclosed that they would start the construction of their secretariat and will complete it next year, 2026 The national president said Governor Mbah will be invited to commission it.
Responding, Gov Mbah told the delegates that Enugu is a historic city. “Enugu, as you already know, is also very artistic with its rolling hills and of course the scenic landscape, beautiful topography. You cannot, even as an architect, just say you love Enugu. We inspire you”.
Governor Mbah making presentation to Architect Adeniyi
He told the Architects that his administration is constructing a new Enugu city that is going to be the best in the continent.
“There will be nothing like this in the entire continent.. This is a city where we hope to start several skyscrapers by next year. We don’t want to benchmark against any other estate in this country.”It is a model. So probably the benchmarking goes to Dubai.It is a very unique city. It is just about 10 minutes drive from here.It is the first attempt to expand the historic city.The city was designed in the 1950s. Since then, there has not been any design to expand it..I want to make this new city special. Nothing should be ignored,” Gov Mbah said.
He announced that the state government will build four tourism sites and there were 70 already.
“We have a profile of tourist sites.We are trying to provide 6 million visitors. We are also putting in place iall the fundamentals that are required to ensure that those people come and stay in safety and comfort. So, we see lot of architects in our system. because we expect that growth to come from private sector.”, he said.
The governor disclosed that his administration has built 7,000 classrooms in two years and 3380 bedded Primary Health Care Centers -13 beds in each of the 260 PHC center.
Responding to the request for allocation of land for construction of their state secretariat, Gov Mbah said, write ,I will approve it”. He said his administration is about the people.They have done over 6,000km roads and more will be done next year.
