By Daniel Tyokua and Stellamaries Amuwa
The Minister of Works, David Umahi on Thursday, said only certified members of Council for the Regulation of Engineers (COREN) are going to be allowed on project sites in the country.
He disclosed this during a meeting with contractors at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja.
Umahi said the initiative followed the plan of president Tinubu to flush out suspected impostors in the engineering profession.
The minister asked contractors and directors in the ministry to be awake to the directive.
He said” “Mr. President has directed that only qualified and certified and COREN engineers are allowed by contractors and the Ministry of Works to be on site.
“Directors in the ministry should abide by the directive to help Tinubu’s led administration eliminate quacks. All projects managers must be COREN registered engineers both chief engineer except for site engineer who maybe learning on the job. Those making decisions must be COREN registered engineers.
“Delays of projects have consequences on payments, on our part we also have delays of payments. We are addressing our own shortcomings, both parties have to address their faults. We mean business in 2024; and we want to work with contractors that are ready for business .
“Unfortunately, I was once a contractor and I know the tricks of contractors but I also know that there are very genuine contractors. Going forward, we were said to have inherited certain amount of debt from contractors and those debts will be forwarded to Mr. President and National Assembly are aware .
“So, what we have done is to set up verification committee about six of them, so all contractors are directed to come forward for verification of debt and you have to give us a proof from scratch of the step we generated and the verification team have the power and right to say, yes or no.
Umahi reiterated that Mr. President is aware of all the processes and was l waiting for results.
