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Engineers seek new regulation to deter quacks, foreigners’ incursion

By Bertram Nwannekanma
11 November 2019   |   4:16 am
To compete favourably with their foreign counterparts and attract patronage from government, engineers have been urged to leverage on science, technology and build their capacity to undertake bigger jobs.

Past President, Association of Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), Nurudeen Rafindadi (left), ACEN President, Charles Akindayomi, Representative of Governor Sanwo-Olu and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Olujimi Hotonu, President , Nigeria Society of Engineers(NSE), Adekunle Mukuolu and Presiden, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria(COREN), Ali Rabiu during the ACEN annual conference in Lagos

To compete favourably with their foreign counterparts and attract patronage from government, engineers have been urged to leverage on science, technology and build their capacity to undertake bigger jobs.

They were also asked to sufficiently engage civil servants and public officers, who are the major custodians of the implementations of government policies and laws on local content.

President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Adekunle Mokuolu, who made the call at the 11th yearly National Conference/Dinner of Association of Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN), in Lagos lamented that engineers have neither benefited from the revised Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Act nor the Executive Order 5 and 7 made by President Mohammadu Buhari last year.

He stressed that there are plans to turn executive order five to a bill, which will be presented to the National Assembly with a view to making it a law.
Mokuolu urged engineers not to keep quiet but should be ready to talk when things are going wrong.

Also, COREN President, Ali Rabiu stressed the need for regulation to deter quacks and outsiders from the practice.

Declaring his unflinching support for the integration of Nigerian engineers into national development, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo- Olu said, “Lagos State believes in inclusive governance and patronage of the local market as it helps in capacity building of our work- force; reducing capital flight and brain drain”.

The governor, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Olujimi Hotonu declared that the government has strong belief in the professional competence of our engineers and trust that they can hold their ground among their peers outside the country.

He opined that the nation could not continue to rely on foreign nationals for all her construction projects when there were local professionals who could compete favourably with their counterparts around the globe.

The governor noted that there was the need for engineers to be encouraged through inclusion and involvement in the design and execution of major projects that cut across all the aspects of engineering including civil, mechanical, chemical to mention but few.

According to him, it is only by so doing that our engineers will acquire the needed impetus, skills and experience to be more updated and globally competitive.

Sanwo Olu stressed that his administration was developing the necessary condition and framework for the State to effectively transit to a Smart city in line with the vision of the founding fathers, disclosing that stakeholders in the built industry and other relevant sectors would be encouraged to actively participate in the design and the execution of major projects so as to jointly realise the dream of a new Lagos that is safe with great aesthetic value.

Espousing the role of Engineers in national development, he said, “The role of the construction sector in our daily life cannot be overemphasized. Virtually all other sectors rely on the construction industry to provide and maintain their accommodations, plants and infrastructure. With the application of digital technologies, the role of the construction sector is bound to become even more important owing to various global megatrends”.

Speaking further the Governor said ‘’we require the services of construction engineers who will assist with project conception, implementation, delivery and management. Thus, it is important for us to galvanise and integrate skilled professionals including project engineers to supervise and ensure effective management and timely completion of projects’’

He encouraged engineers to always abide by the new Public Procurement regulations in their projects execution, the governor stated that, the passage of the Public Procurement Act [PPA], which emphasized competence, appropriate pricing, structured funding, usage of standard and quality materials, amongst others, was meant or designed to entrench quality, efficiency and safety, in line with global best practices.

Earlier, ACEN President, Charles Akindayomi stated that the conference themed: “ Integrating Nigerian Engineers Into National Development”, was aimed at bringing engineers together to rub minds on how to move engineering profession forward to meet international standard practice.

He said the body was working hard to ensure that they take good initiatives that could help to achieve sustainable development in all engineering practice. It will also ensure that all contracts awarded to any of their members were monitored to ensure efficient execution and timely delivery of contracts as specified in the contract terms of reference.

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