Kogi, UN-Habitat seal $1.3m structural plan, urban renewal deal

THE partnership between Kogi State Government and UN-Habitat was strengthened  last week with the signing of USD 1.3 million an agreement of cooperation focusing on structural plan and urban renewal scheme.

The agreement was signed by Prof. Oyebanji Oyeyinka on behalf of UN-Habitat and the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi.


This agreement follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed in August 2013 between Kogi state and UN-Habitat.       Specifically, the funds provided will be used to support the following structural and urban plan for Kogi state: Develop City Structure Plans for selected cities that draws on and strengthens the state’s on-going successful urban renewal progarmme; develop Urban Legislation and Urban Laws Programme, a collection of policies, laws, and practices that govern the management and development of the urban environment and citizens’ behavior.

Under the agreement, the UN agency will establish the Kogi State Urban Observatory (a unique monitoring system developed by UN-Habitat) that builds indicator systems through data collection, analysis, monitoring and reporting on sustainable urbanization; developing an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, a holistic, strategic and systematic approach to solid waste management based on the Waste Management Hierarchy Model: Avoid, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover and Dispose.

As part of the deal, an Early Warning System for Climate-related extreme events such as floods and droughts will also be developed. A prototype (in the form of a guidance tool) that provide guidance on managing extreme events from the back end (data collection sources) to the front end (delivery of warnings to vulnerable people); while a construct model Public Spaces that focuses on bridging the urban divide and promoting socio-economic inclusiveness. It will also address social inclusion, improved integration, mobility and connectivity, better basic service delivery. This fourth project will be partly supported by UN-Habitat.

“The signing of this Agreement shows the strong commitment of the state government in delivering the promises made to its people” Prof. Oyebanji said. Mr. Awoniyi in his remark said:  This is a major event for the Kogi state because the state believed that all this effort marks a major paradigm shift in the way the cities and towns planned and operate…proper urban planning is the most sustainable solution to the state flooding challenge”.