The committee was inaugurated on Friday, October 23, 2026, by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development to strengthen urban planning, improve structural safety and check indiscriminate development.
Speaking through the Permanent Secretary, Soibitein Duke Harry, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Amaopusenibo Amairigha Edward Hart, said Port Harcourt’s rapid urban growth presents opportunities as well as challenges requiring effective planning and regulation.
He stressed the need to ensure that high-rise buildings are properly planned, designed, constructed and regulated in accordance with approved building standards and zoning requirements.
According to him, the committee is expected to promote orderly urban development, protect the environment, improve the city’s aesthetics and functionality, and reduce risks associated with unsafe buildings.
The commissioner charged members to discharge their responsibilities with professionalism, integrity and diligence, urging them to produce practical and enforceable recommendations that support public safety and sustainable development.
Responding on behalf of the members, the committee’s chairman, Aloysius Nwuzi, described the assignment as central to the urban planning profession’s responsibility to create a liveable and viable environment.
Nwuzi acknowledged the challenges posed by haphazard development and assured the state government that the committee would approach its assignment with the seriousness and professionalism it requires.
The committee comprises town planning professionals, academics and directors of the ministry, including Dr. Simeipiri Wenike Johnbull, Dr. Edmund Nwokaeze, Stewart Owukio, Oti Emmanuel Okah, Nzen Ebirien Nzen Jnr., Stella Enyadike, Eleeh Chimezie, and Felicia Leyira Ikpe.
Its terms of reference include reviewing existing planning regulations, identifying suitable locations for high-rise developments and recommending zoning standards covering building heights, plot ratios, setbacks, development density, parking and infrastructure capacity.
The ministry called on relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the committee in its efforts to establish a safer, better-planned and more sustainable urban environment in Port Harcourt.
