………As FG mulls task team to conceptualize, operationalize Good Architecture in Nigeria.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to diversifying the Nigerian economy, describing him as a leader with the political will to take bold decisions.
This is just as the Federal Government has mulled a task team to conceptualise and operationalise good architecture in Nigeria in the bid to standardise the country’s architectural framework.
Speaking on the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to diversify the nation’s economy today at the Presidential Villa, VP Shettima cited the President’s recent trip to Brazil which resulted in the signing of five Memmoranda of Understanding covering aviation, foreign affairs, science and technology, and agriculture, saying these were deliberate and intentional steps by the President in diversifying the nation’s economy.
The Vice President stated this on Thursday when he received a delegation from the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) led by its President, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, on a courtesy visit.
“In President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, you have an ally, a friend who grew up in the same ecosystem as you, who speaks your language of business and commerce, who understands the economic terrain, and most importantly, who has the political courage,” the VP noted.
VP Shettima observed that while the world is now in a knowledge-driven post-industrial age, the current government and relevant stakeholders are “in a unique position” to turn Nigeria’s potential into “demographic dividends.”
He stressed that Nigeria is also in a unique position to fill global talent gaps for many reasons, including “our youthful population.”
Referencing top African unicorns domiciled in Nigeria, VP Shettima said Nigerians have the intellectual know-how, capacity, and versatility to economically reposition the country by leveraging President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Describing the NES as one of the oldest organizations in Nigeria’s economic ecosystem, Vice President Shettima solicited the society’s support for the actualization of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He urged the body to come up with more robust solutions to Nigeria’s challenges, assuring them that the President Tinubu administration is open to their input and “perspectives on diversifying the nation’s economy.”
Speaking earlier, the President of NES, Prof. Adenikinju, applauded the economic reforms of the administration of President Tinubu, describing it as bold, profound and yielding results.
He pledged the NES’s firm support for the Tinubu administration’s efforts and policies and offered to serve, if integrated, in the Federal Government’s economic management team as well as relevant committees and bodies saddled with development and economic planning responsibilities.
Prof. Adenikinju said for the administration to consolidate gains recorded in the economy, government must be intentional about the reactivation of the Economic Intelligence Unit in the presidency to provide evidence-based advisory for the President.
He also announced plans to confer the society’s highest award, ‘Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Society (FNES)’ on Vice President Shettima at its forthcoming national conference on September 9 in Abuja.
The NES delegation also included former President of the Society, Prof. Sarah Anyanwu; Council members, Dr Rislanudeen Muhammad and Dr Idris M. Idris; Chairman of NES Abuja chapter, Dr Peter Agunloye; SA to the NES President, Dr Justin Amase, and Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee of the conference, Lady Nonye Ndidi, among others.
FG Mulls Task Team To Conceptualize, Operationalise Good Architecture In Nigeria
Meanwhile, the Federal Government is considering constituting a presidential task team for the conceptualization and operationalization of good architecture in Nigeria.
This was one of the requests made on Thursday by a delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) led by its President, Arc. Mobolaji Adealo Adeniyi, during a courtesy visit to the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Institute also named the Vice President as Nigeria’s Champion of Good Architecture to elevate design as a national priority as well as a vehicle for unlocking economic potential.
Speaking during a meeting with the NIA delegation, Senator Shettima assured the NIA of the support of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the President is 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 want to assure you that in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu you have a very, very formidable ally with whom we can work collectively to catapult our nation.
“We have more than ten thousand architects in this country; we have people with the experience, with the exposure and technical knowledge to add value,” he stated.
Urging Nigerian Architects to support the current administration, VP Shettima described President 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 VP continued: “I want to implore you to support the government. We will, in turn, reciprocate by supporting you, by involving you because expertise is not something you can buy in the market place. Experience, skills are things that you have to learn and earn at a price.
“Together, we can make this country a great nation. What binds us together supersedes whatever that divides us. If this country succeeds, the black man can hold his head high in the gathering of the black.”
Earlier, President of the NIA and leader of the delegation, Arc. Adeniyi, said the reasons for their visit were to share the vision and mission of good architecture in Nigeria and its role in delivering not only the Renewed Hope mandate of the Tinubu administration but the all-round attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the country.
She noted that “architecture embodies not just the physical structure but a representation of our culture, society, and ways of life and other concepts of human lives, most especially in today’s contemporary world.
“Good architecture propels societal progress. When we design and deploy good architecture it positively impacts society and those who live in our cities and use our buildings in schools, hospital, airports, rail stations, factories, homes, markets, tourist resorts, green recreation areas among others,” Mrs. Adeniyi added.
She highlighted some of the challenges in the sector to include increasing departure from architectural design standards and specifications in the construction and oversight functions for buildings, paucity of locally manufactured building materials, lack of up-to-date expertise and capacity for advanced buildings, supply chain constraints as well as sub-standard or poor-quality building materials.
Arc. Adeniyi urged the Vice President to be the country’s “Champion of Good Architecture, to elevate design as a national priority and making architecture the bridge between aspirations and a reality.
She also invited the Vice President to its 65th Annual General Meeting on November 26, 2025 under the theme “Architectural Excellence for Economic Resilience,” revealing that VP Shettima would be conferred with the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute.
Signed
Stanley Nkwocha
Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications
(Office of The Vice President)
4th September, 2025
