Honorable Commissioner for Housing & Urban Development Announces Plateau State Government’s Plan to Upgrade 39 Slums to Urban Center by proving Basic Infrastructure

The Plateau State Government has announced plans to upgrade 39 Slums to Urban Centres. When this is executed, it will bring the total number of Urban Centres to 56 when added to the existing 17 recognized Urban Centres across the 17 LGAs of Plateau State.

This was disclosed by the Honorable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Joshua Ubandoma Laven while responding to questions at the ‘Time is Now Stewardship’ Accountability Town Hall Organized by the Directorate of Research, Government House held on Saturday 6th April 2024 at the Rayfield Studios of the Plateau Radio and Television Corporation (PRTV), Jos.

Speaking on urban slums that the administration of Governor Caleb Mutfwang intends to upgrade to urban centres, the Honorable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Joshua Ubandoma Laven said that part of government’s plans to upgrade the slums to Urban Centres include the provision of Road Infrastructure, Portable Drinking Water and other amenities.

“For the areas designated to be slums and designates to be urban. Presently Plateau State has 17 recognized urban centers from inception. The proposed areas now that will be upgraded from slums to urban center, are about 39, new additional slums that are to be upgraded to urban centers.”

“Why are they being upgraded? These are major towns that are supposed to be in the Plateau State Master Plan, but because they have not been upgraded to the urban centers, such development hardly go in there.”

“So his Excellency graciously said, okay, there is needs for us to upgrade those slums by providing those basic amenities like the rural roads that will give access to those areas that you cannot access and then improve on their infrastructural development, that will give them sense of belonging.”

Honorable Laven further explained the plan of Governor Mutfwang to ensure that development is taken to towns across the 17 LGAs of the State.

“Now they will be captured in the Greater Jos Master plan for further development. There are a lot of them, but it is going to be in the 17 Local Government, not just only Jos – Bukuru Metropolis. I just gave am example of Kabong – Tudun-Wada and Rukuba Road Satellite Market areas that are already slums. But the road networks that have linked them now have already upgraded to urban center. Those are the areas and we have them already. So we’re going to have total number of about 56 slums upgrades to urban centers.”