The federal government is considering constituting a presidential task team for the conceptualisation and operationalisation of good architecture in the country.

This is one of the requests made on Thursday by a delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), led by its president, Mobolaji Adeniyi, during a visit to Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mr Shettima assured the NIA of the support of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, adding that the president was a dependable ally who is ready to work collectively to move Nigeria forward.

“I want to assure you that all your requests are hereby granted. I assure you, too, that in President Bola Tinubu, you have a very formidable ally with whom we can work collectively to catapult our nation.

“We have more than 10,000 architects in this country; we have people with the experience, exposure, and technical knowledge to add value,” he said.

Mr Shettima, who urged the architects to support the current administration, described Mr Tinubu as “a compassionate leader who won’t even want to hurt a fly.”

“But leadership requires taking hard decisions, and I believe that in the fullness of time, posterity will be kind to him,” the vice president said.

He urged them to support the government, which, in turn, would support them.

Earlier, Ms Adeniyi highlighted the institute’s role in delivering not only the Renewed Hope mandate of the Tinubu administration but also the all-around attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the country.

She highlighted some of the challenges in the sector, including increasing departure from architectural design standards and specifications in the construction and oversight functions for buildings.

The NIA president also decried the paucity of locally manufactured building materials, the lack of up-to-date expertise and capacity for advanced building construction, and supply chain constraints, as well as the use of substandard or poor-quality building materials.

She urged the vice president to be the country’s “Champion of Good Architecture,” to elevate design as a national priority, and to make architecture the bridge between aspirations and a reality.

Ms Adeniyi further invited the vice president to the 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for November 26.

(NAN)