The Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Kwara State, Alhaji Muhammed Isah, has said the planning and development of Nigerian cities and towns will improve the environment, reduce traffic congestion and the attendant hazards, as well as improve on the quality of life of the residents.

Isah, who spoke in an interview with our correspondent on Friday during a ceremony to mark the elevation of the state's Surveyor-General, Alhaji Lamidi Oyebode, to the fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, called for strict adherence to urban development plans, saying such would ensure orderliness and stability, and reduce the collapse of structures and avoid some preventable natural disasters.

Oyebode said the profession of surveying was fundamental to all aspects of human endeavour, but noted that its awareness was still poor due to the low level of development in the country.

He said the more there was advancement in development and awareness, the better for the profession, noting that no country could reach the peak of its development without the optimal utilisation of its natural resources.

Oyebode said mapping was important to urban development, adding that the most developed parts of the world were the best mapped.

The surveyor-general said any government aspiring to do the right things could not afford to handle issues relating to surveying and mapping with levity.

Oyebode said, "We must accord surveying and mapping their proper place. Surveying is the bedrock of functional and orderly development, including social and economic development.