By Daniel Tyokua
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) said it has constituted an enforcement committee that will ensure only licensed engineers are awarded engineering contracts in the country.
President of COREN, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, disclosed this during the 31st Engineering Assembly in Abuja, yesterday.
He said the initiative was part of measures to curtain activities of quackery in the engineering sector, especially as it evolves construction.
Abubakar said the team tagged ‘State Technical Committees (STC)’ would ensure regulation and monitoring of engineering activities in states, while ensuring proactive and coordinated efforts to create a platform of action and performance for the various committees.
“COREN considers the duties of the committees as the core mandate and intends to structure their activities to include timely inspection, surveillance, monitoring of Engineering infrastructure, facilities, plants and factories.
“The STC members are going to be certified, licensed and authorised to enter and inspect all engineering sites. They will have a clear mandate to enforce the law that only COREN Licensed practitioners must be allowed to practise engineering in Nigeria; including the power to issue Stop-Work-Orders and sealing of sites, when on his part the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, called for a bill to promote local content in the construction industry”
Abubakar explained that there was the need for Nigerian engineers to handle 90 percent or all engineer projects in the country with the best approach.
“In Borno state, local engineers handle up to 98 per cent of infrastructural projects. I think this is something that we need to do. There are many senators in the national assembly who can sponsor bills, many deputy governors and governors. I think we can put our heads together, we can on the issues of local content.”
He said there are brilliant Nigerian engineers but when they are not given the opportunity, they can’t compete with foreign contractors.
The 31st Engineering Assembly with the theme: “Entrenching and strengthening engineering practitioners code of conduct for resilient engineering practice in Nigeria” drew engineering firms and engineers far and near.
