The Nation Newspaper

Category: Building & Properties

  • Lagos, NIWA feud over land

    The Lagos State government has accused the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) of illegal occupation of the state’s land.

    The government, which cited the illegal placing and authorising placement of vessels and containers on the  land belonging to the state on Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 area by NIWA, as part of the illegality, blamed the development on NIWA’s exploitation of the provisions of its enabling statute, which is said to have been earlier nullified by a court of competent jurisdiction.

    At a three-day investigative hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways at the National Assembly, Abuja, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands Bureau, Mr.  Bode Agoro, affirmed that all the land in the state is vested in the governor who holds same in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of the Land Use Act.

    Agoro told the Committee that by virtue of “Designation of Urban Areas Order” dated March 2, 1981, all the different areas and names located on the Lagos State Regional Plan  (1980-2000) of the Lagos State are designated as Urban Areas, thereby placing all land in  the state under the control and management of its governor.

    In his submissions, the Permanent Secretary told the Committee that the parcels of land in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki and Apapa, among others, were either acquired by Colonial Administration through Crown Ordinance, which is now State Land Law Chapter S11, Laws of Lagos State 2015, while the governor, through the Land Use and Allocation Committee, has the power to allocate land in conformity with the provision of the Land Use Act for residential, industrial, commercial, or institutional purposes.

    Arguing further, Agoro said Decree No 52 is contained in Lands  (Title Vesting, etc ) Act, Cap L7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 , Act which is now incorporated in section 13 of the NIWA Act, Cap N47, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    He however conceded that the Federal Military Government through Decree No 52 of 1993 compulsorily acquired the parcel of land within 100 metres limit of the shoreline and all land reclaimed near the lagoon, sea or ocean in or bordering Nigeria.

    This acquisition of land as described in The Lands (Title Vesting, etc) Act, was challenged in Suit No FHC/ FHC/ CS/ 669/95, by Elegushi Chieftaincy family and others at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos presided over by Justice T. A. Odunowo wherein the court declared the acquisition i.e Decree No 52 of 1993, null and void.

    He therefore concluded that the provision of section 13 of the NIWA Act, Cap N47 is a nullity based on the decision of the Federal High Court aforementioned, same having not been appealed.

    Responding, the General Manager, Lagos Zone, NIWA, Muazu Sambo, told the Committee that all navigable waterways, inland waterways, river ports and internal waters of Nigeria, excluding direct approaches to the ports listed in the Third Schedule to the NIWA Act and other waters declared to be approaches to ports under or pursuant to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Act, up to 250 metres beyond the upstream edge of the quay of such ports, are under the exclusive management, direction and control of NIWA.

    He noted that a subsisting Court of Appeal’s decision in G. M. Enterprises Limited vs C.R. investment Limited held that NIWA has been conferred with power and right to control, develop, manage and use all the lands navigable waterways, inland waterways and river ports throughout Nigeria.

    But the Director and Head of Legal, Lands Bureau, Mr Emmanuel Akande, said the Court of Appeal’s decision in G. M. Enterprises Limited vs C.R. Investment Ltd relates to the validity of the NIWA Act and not the interpretation of Section 12 and 13. He stressed that the Land  (Title Vesting etc) Act has been declared null and void by a court of competent jurisdiction.

    Commenting on the implication of Section 49 (1) of the Land Use Act, earlier referred to by Sambo, Akande said it is to the effect that any claim of title to land vested in the Federal Government or its agency after the Land Use Act came into effect on March 29, 1978, is ultra vires and thus, invalid.

    He said NIWA was created by an Act in 1997 after the promulgation of the Land Use Act in 1978, and so, cannot benefit from the provision of Section 49 (1) having been created after the commencement of the Land Use Act.

    Akande said the acquisition of Land in Lekki Phase 1 by NIWA was illegal and ultra vires based on the fact that the Lagos State had earlier acquired the land in 1972 by virtue of the Lagos State Official Gazette No. 20. Vol.5 dated  August 18, 1972, covering all that parcel of land at Maroko, Ilado and Moba villages ( now Lekki Phase 1), containing an approximate area of  3100 acres.

    The committee, headed by Patrick Asadu, expressed its dis satisfaction over the insufficiency of documents furnished her by NIWA in support of the claim and concluded on reconvening at a later date for further deliberation to reach an amicable solution.

  • Erosion: Engineers advocate better environment management

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), has blamed man-made factors for the devastating effects of erosion menace in Anambra State and the entire southeast. The Chairman of NSE, Awka Branch, Mr Edmund Nkalu, , made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Monday.

    Nkalu said erosion menace in Anambra was caused primarily by the soil type which was prone to erosion and the topography also increased the speed of runoff water which had helped the activities of storm water.

    He, however, said that manmade factors including indiscriminate construction of buildings, covering of soil surfaces with concrete slabs, no or out dated urban designs and poor project supervision were exacerbating the menace.

    Nkalu said people should imbibe the habit of keeping green surroundings as well as make adequate arrangements to ensure that rain water from their premises was properly collected and channeled.

    “It is clear that storm water has been causing enormous damage in this part of the country, especially in Anambra, but it is not a new event as it has been with us for a while.

    “There are manmade and natural factors that cause erosion but the man-made factor is an area that interest us.

    “What can we do to reduce and control erosion which occurs as a result of human activities?

    “At the individual level, people should design their buildings in such a way that flood water from rain can be absorbed in the soil, instead of these concrete floors which prevent water from percolating into the soil and increase the speed of runoff.

    “It is ignorance that makes people to seal off the floor unlike in other climes where people only cover the portion for walkway to the house and leave the other areas green and to absolve the water.

    “Let people begin to plant grass, there is nothing bad in having farm or garden in compounds,” he said.

    Nkalu said the society decided to focus on effective procurement process in its forthcoming lecture because of its role in ensuring sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects.

    He condemned the collapse of  roads and structures due to erosion, blaming it on poor adherence to standards and supervision.

    He urged government agencies, developers, community leaders to attend the lecture which was designed for the purpose of enhancing service delivery in both the public and private sectors.

    “The Society of Engineers is not comfortable with roads collapsing within two years; we are calling on the supervisory agencies to step up their functions and help check the loss of scarce funds that goes into poor quality jobs.

    “We need a concerted effort of the approval agencies, the physical planning board, the city development agencies, the Ministry of Environment to come up with a master plan designs. “Specifications for road designs should be strictly adhered to, there are challenges of paucity of which make the contractors to cut corners.

    “The procurement system must be thorough, the material quality must meet standards, the contractor must be competent and the cost of contract must be realistic to be able to build a quality road,” he said.

    The chairman said the society was interested in good governance which according to him, was all about service delivery in every sector of the economy.

  • ‘N126.2b lost to abandoned Fed Govt properties ‘

    The Federal Government has been urged to either concession or sell all its buildings across the country currently not being put to use. The sale or concession should be to private investors in order to forestall further deterioration as a result of continued abandonment.

    A Professor of Building Management, Prof. Olumide Afolarin Adenuga, made this call recently during his inaugural lecture which held at the J.F Ade Ajayi Memorial Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos. He disclosed that since 2006 to date, N126.2 billion has been lost in revenue to the Federal Government properties in Lagos State alone, because the government refused to either sell or concession the assets.

    Adenuga listed such wasting assets in the state to include: the National Stadium, Surulere; the Federal Secretariat Complex, Ikoyi; The Nigerian External Telecommunications (NET) building, Marina; the Defence House (formerly Independence Building), and the former NAVY Headquarters building in Marina. Others include: the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, former National Assembly Complex, Tafawa Balewa Square, and the Supreme Court building among others.

    “All these buildings are in deplorable states of structural and decorative repairs because we do not have any maintenance culture, a fact which manifests in the general apathy for maintenance coupled with ignorance on the part of occupiers of the benefits of planed preventive maintenance and care of buildings,” he said.

    According to Adenuga, between 2004 to date, the cumulative potential economic loss from the National Stadium alone, is about N52.6 billion, while the Federal Secretariat, which has been overgrown with weeds  could have  yielded over N72 billion, if it had been converted to luxury residential apartments as proposed by Resort International Limited (RIL) since 2006.  Also the 32-storey NET building with about 720 square metres of lettable space, could have attracted over N1.6 billion in rent annually if well maintained and optimally utilised.

    He said apart from the loss of the huge revenue which could have been ploughed back into provision of social amenities for Nigerians, the 480 units of luxury residential apartments being proposed by RIL could have contributed to reducing the shortfall in the nation’s housing stock.

    “Because of their present deplorable state, these once iconic structures have become a nuisance not only to the city of Lagos and her residents, but is also a source of economic loss arising from abandonment and gross under-utilisation,” he added.

    Adenuga lamented that the nation has been hemorrhaging as a result of the neglect of the buildings, warning that the huge economic benefits of these iconic structures would continue to elude the nation if the government continue to ignore the need to restore them to beneficial use for Nigerians.

    The university don explained that maintenance was responsible for increased lifespan of structures such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Papal States in the Vatican City, The White House in the United States and other monuments, most of which have been kept in same serviceable condition as they were at the time of their construction.

    For him, it is regrettable that many of the nation’s iconic assets, which were pleasant to look at when they were newly built, have been allowed to degenerate due to lack of maintenance and planned repairs that could have reversed the trend and turned them into positive economic assets.

    “It is a glaring fact that our buildings are in very poor and deplorable conditions of structures and decorative disrepair, abandoned and reduced more or less to refuse dumps and natural homes for rodents and vermin in spite of billions of naira spent to build and commission them,” he lamented.

    To reverse the trend of improper maintenance of public or private properties, Adenuga recommended a formulation and formalisation of regular minimum repair programme, regular and effective inspection of all the fabrics of the buildings, including the surroundings, as well as the comfort of the occupants to detect signs of disrepair, prompt attention to repair needs of buildings in order to keep the buildings in acceptable standards.

     

     

    The Don also canvassed planned preventive maintenance, which according to him, are best accommodated at the design and construction stages of building development, even as he urged occupiers of buildings to report, as soon as noticed, defects for prompt maintenance even as he charged them to use the property in such a way as to keep them in good tenantable conditions.

     

  • UNICEF urges Bauchi to redeem N250m counterpart fund

    The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Bauchi State Government to pay its counterpart fund of N250 million to enable it benefit from intervention fund under the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) project.

    UNICEF officer in charge of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Nigeria, Mr Zard Jurji, made the call  last Monday when he led a team of UNICEF staff on a visit to the deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Audu Katagum in Bauchi, the state capital.

    According to him, money has been set aside by the government of United Kingdom for the implementation of SHAWN projects in 12 local government areas of the state. He therefore, warned that the state government might lose the fund if payment of the counterpart money is not completed in earnest.

    Jurji also called on the state government to upgrade the WASH units of local government areas to the status of department for proper supervision and sustainability of SHAWN projects in the state.

    In his response, the deputy governor, Katagum, said the state government would pay it counterpart fund within two weeks. He praised UNICEF and the United Kingdom for its commitment towards improving the lots of the people, especially in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene.

  • Rail project: Landlords accuse NRC of flouting court order

    The planned demolition of Adisa Housing Estate in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, despite a court order has pitted three property owners against the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

    Alhaji Moruf K. Salami, Mrs. Uyo Nwajei and Alhaja Aisha Aminu Gwadabe, through their counsel, A. O. Aponmade & Co, on July 26, obtained an order restraining NRC, Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing, China Construction & Electrical Investment Company Limited, Inspector-General of Police and Attorney General of the Federation from demolishing properties at 308B, Murtala Muhammed Way, Adisa Housing Estate, Ebute Metta, Lagos. The said properties had been earmarked for demolition to pave the way for the construction of railway lines to connect Lagos to Abeokuta.

    Justice M.S Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos, granted the order. He also barred the defendants from trespassing on the land, or to evicting the plaintiffs from the said property.

    The plaintiff are alleging that  NRC is trying to circumvent the order.

    They explained that due process must be followed in acquiring the properties since they are not aware to the rail project. In a statement, Gwadabe said their ordeal began last year when residents of Adisa Housing Estate observed that trucks were being parked by the NRC to block the entrance to the estate. She further stated that the construction firm officials, predominantly Chinese, also forcibly entered the estate to carry out mapping and surveying exercises for the construction of new railway lines from Lagos to Abeokuta.

    She explained that the said properties were bought from the Federal Ministry of Works, with adequate allocation paper and payments made to the prototype housing estate account of the Federal Ministry of Works in 1996. She, however, regrets that the plan of NRC and China Construction & Electrical Investment Company Limited was to acquire the property without complying with the provisions of the law and paying commensurate compensation.

    “Both the constitution and the Act establishing NRC set out the minimum requirements that must be met by this agency if it intends to take over the immovable property of anyone. There must be a notice of its intention to acquire, served on us. This would be followed by discussion on compensation and then payment,” she insisted.

    Gwadabe alleged that the defendants sent a valuer without notifying the property owners. “On June 22, 2018, the valuers came with representatives of NRC and Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to hold a meeting with the landlords at which they announced that our compensations were ready and they had come to pay us and give us two weeks to vacate our properties after payment.,” she claimed.

    But the plaintiffs said they demanded to know how much compensation they will be paid, but were instead told to sign an agreement first before being shown the cheque due to them. They also claimed that agents of NRC have begun heavy drilling activities in the estate.

    “They are doing this even though they are fully aware that we have a pending case in court. They are doing this in flagrant disobedience to a subsisting order of a court of competent jurisdiction. This is impunity and we will not stand by and allow it,” the plaintiffs said.

    When contacted, NRC Director Civil, Anthony Onyokoko, said the compensation is general, and there is no need to be selective on it, adding that what the NRC paid as compensation ‘was adequate by the law’.

    “We know that the three plaintiffs are in court. They need to agree with us and come out of court. Just a few houses are still standing. It is a Federal Government project. We are pleading with them to collect the compensation money,” he said.

  • Visionscape: we don’t owe salaries

    •’Enquiries on CWS workers’ salaries should be directed to MoE’

    Visionscape Sanitation Solutions (VSS), an environmental firm, has stated categorically that it is not owing any staff salaries, stating that any enquiry on the issue of salaries raised by protesting Community Sanitation Workers (CWS’s) should be directed to the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment.

    CWS workers had embarked on a protest to the office of the Lagos State Governor, Alausa, Ikeja, on Monday over alleged non-payment of two months’ salaries by the environmental firm. The company denied the claim, calling it totally false and unfounded.

    In a statement issued by the CEO of VSS, John Irvine, the company said, “Whilst we cannot ascertain the information that has been published, we can confirm that no Visionscape staff salaries have ever been compromised in any way.”

    The company reiterated that all enquiries regarding the CSW should be directed to the Ministry of Environment/ Public Utility Monitoring Assurance Unit (PUMAU).

    Irvine said that the company continues to guarantee the complete safety and security of its employees with the highest levels of protection and equipment.

    “We remain committed to working with all stakeholders as we carry out our respective roles and responsibilities and will continue to support the Cleaner Lagos Initiative”, he assured.

  • Architects council unveils measures to curb building collapse

    The Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has thrown its weight behind efforts to end building collapse.

    It also sympathised with victims of the building collapse in Jabi in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    In a statement by  its President, Dipo Ajayi, ARCON observed that past incident  showed  that developers and some institutions hire unregistered persons as architects/consultants to  execute their projects.

    To resolve the problem, the body has set up ARCON Projects Registration Number (APRN), which would be issued to architects,  and would be written on their projects to certify that they executed them.

    Ajayi explained that the APRN is intended to combat the scourge of building failure and collapse  by eliminating quackery. It is also to ensure that only registered firms submit designs for planning and approval.

    He said architects and firms which are registered with the Council are to submit building plans for approval/implementation and are responsible for the supervision of their designs. This measure, he further explained, is to complement, among other things, the old practice of submitting buildings with copies of the architect’s practice licence; affixing of ARCON stamps, signed by the architect and sealed (with the architect’s ARCON seal) on each sheet of the drawings submitted for approval; a letter from the client stating that the architect shall be responsible for the supervision of their architectural design during the construction period; the APRN on each sheet of the drawings submitted for approval and the placement of the APRN number, together with the architect’s (or architectural firm’s name/registration-number, on the project sign board upon commencement of construction.

    Ajayi said the ARCON also plans to have an enforcement and compliance unit which is to ensure that only registered architects handle architectural projects in the country and in consonance with the extant laws.

    ”These measures put in place by the Council are to complement the content and spirit of the National Building Codes which are to ensure that only professionals with the requisite knowledge and expertise of the building process are engaged to carry out building projects and are duly governed by the various Acts in our statute books. The council is working in concert with other interest groups to get the built environment properly policed to avoid or reduce to the barest minimum the issue of building collapse and its attendant effect on the developer and the national psyche,” the ARCON chief said.

     

  • World Water Week opens with call for more nature-based solutions

    Poor water management and stressed ecosystems cause poverty and violent conflicts. To avoid a global water crisis, more nature-based solutions are urgently needed. These were key themes during the inauguration of World Water Week 2018 on Monday, which brought world leaders, water experts, development professionals and business representatives from all over the world together in Stockholm, Sweden.

    There is a growing realisation that humans are increasingly vulnerable to water shortages, extreme weather and social unrest. Decades of unprecedented economic and population growth, rapid urbanisation and climate change have led to stressed ecosystems and high pressure on limited water resources. In response to this, societies must find and implement solutions that work with, rather than against nature.

    World Water Week, the leading meeting-place for the global water community, this year focused on the link between water, ecosystems and human development. Some 3,700 participants met in Stockholm from August 26 to 27 to discuss concrete solutions to the escalating water challenges.

    “With the rapidly growing demand for water, it is becoming increasingly clear that water is everybody’s issue. Scarcity  of water has become normal in so many parts of the world,” said Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of SIWI, which organises World Water Week.

    In his welcome address, Mr. Holmgren called for a shift towards more green infrastructure solutions, noting that they are inherently multi-functional: “City parks retain rain, improve the microclimate, contribute to biodiversity – and look good doing so. Green solutions are, in addition, also often much more resilient than grey. They tend to bend rather than break under pressure. They can repair themselves and restore their functionality also after significant damage.

    Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, talked about the strong link between environmental degradation, poverty and violent conflicts. This is not least visible in her home country Nigeria, which in recent years has suffered from terrorism: “I believe that the tragedy of Boko Haram is inextricably linked to poor water management and the solution to the conflict in the region must include equitable ways of using water resources,” she said.

    As an example of the dramatic consequences of a collapsing ecosystem, Amina J Mohammed referred to Lake Chad, which has shrunk by 90 per cent, saying that “it has impacted food insecurity and is increasing the risk of water-borne diseases, but it is also causing poverty by taking away farmers’ livelihoods, especially for women. And it has a gender dimension, contributing among others to low levels of school-enrolment among our girls. Taken together, all these factors have contributed increasingly to insecurity in our region, already affected by religious extremism.”

    Similar views were expressed by Åsa Regnér, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director, Director for the Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships Bureau, at UN Women. She described lack of water as a root cause of poverty and inequality since “only in Sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls spend 40 billion hours a year collecting water, equivalent to a year’s worth of labour by the entire workforce in France”.

    Carin Jämtin, Director-General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, also talked about the relationship between poverty, conflicts and lack of clean water. “In countries affected by conflict and fragility, tensions over water increase. There is evidence that water and sanitation infrastructure have been attacked, or that the access to clean water is denied as tactic or weapon of war. Without access to clean water, children fall ill, hospitals do not function, and disease and malnutrition spread quickly. Among the threats against children in conflict, the lack of safe drinking water is one of the deadliest,” Jämtin said.

    Karin Wanngård, Mayor of Stockholm, pointed to the risk from populism and short-sightedness but also felt that cities were increasingly coming together to find new solutions, adding: “I hope that this week will help the global community to get closer to the goal of a sustainable world.”

    Many of the speakers also expressed optimism about the increase in new solutions borrowed from nature. An inspiring example is the work of Stockholm Water Prize winners Professors Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht. Interviewed by SIWI’s Senior Manager International Policies, Maggie White, on how their research on environmental biotechnology has revolutionised water treatment Bruce Rittman said:

    “Microorganisms live in water and when we use microorganisms we are making water a key part of the solution to many of our environmental challenges.” He added: “We want to have a merging of environmental and economic interests. We don’t want to make pollution control and environmental protection just a cost to society, we want to turn that also into a generator of resources and economic value.”

  • Fed Govt: our target is completion of projects

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has said the Federal Government’s focus is  to complete road, power and housing projects.

    Spaeking at an interactive session with 10 social clubs at the Lagos City Hall, Fashola emphasised that the completion of some road projects has led to the construction economy bouncing back and  promoting growth of businesses.

    He explained that in the 2015 budget, N19 billion was earmarked for road projects out of which only N9 billion was released leaving a huge deficient that made several contractors to abandon site.

    Fashola said the trend coupled with huge debts owed contractors, affected businesses, which in turn, impacted the economy negatively. “And because of dwindling oil revenue, we had to do more with less money,” he said.

    The Minister explained that the government decided to prioritise the roads for repairs based on six main categories. These include roads that carried heaviest vehicles; those that led to the ports; roads critical to agriculture; and those that required counterpart funding and the Sukuk bonds. “There is no state where we are not constructing one road or the other,” he said.

    On housing delivery, the minister said the Buhari regime was also completing housing projects started by previous administrations. This, he explained, is because only completed projects were useful to Nigerians. He urged Nigerians to speak up in favour of the good gesture to complete projects.

    The minister said apart from the Alhaji Shehu Shagari administration, this was the second time the Federal Government was embarking on mass housing initiatives across the country.

    He said there was need to get the product formulation, packaging and delivery right, adding that there were several unoccupied buildings across the country either because they were not affordable or did not meet the taste of consumers. He said pilot schemes were still on-going for new housing projects as there were no empirical evidence of what kind of homes people could afford or their taste preferences.

    “If you don’t sample correctly, the product would fail. When we say we are planning, people think we are joking,” the minister said.

    He said the government through the Federal Mortgage Bank, was removing impediments to access to loans and was at the same time expanding the scope to capture more beneficiaries. “Clearly, it is getting better. Let us honestly admit,” he said.

  • Local Content: Govt refuses expatriate engineers visas

    THE Federal Government has  stopped the issuance of visas to foreigners seeking to take up jobs in the country.

    President Muhammadu Buhari made this known at the 27th Engineering Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), held in Abuja.

    The President explained that the visa restriction to foreign engineers, enforced by the Ministry of Interior, was in compliance with Executive Order 5 signed by him.

    He said the decision would free up more jobs for Nigerians and improve local content.

    Besides, he said he had approved two key regulations for the engineering/construction sector. They include the Regulation on Licencing of Engineering Firms and Regulation on Construction Industry.

    Buhari, represented by the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the government was serious about the Order and would ensure that it was strictly adhered to.

    Buhari said: “I recently signed the Executive Order 5, which states that procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007.

    “The implementation of this order has started and as expected some of its attendant benefits including the promotion of science, technology and innovation in several centres of the economy are beginning to manifest.

    “Directly connected to these benefits is the fact that the Ministry of Interior has now restricted issuing visas to foreigners seeking to take up engineering roles in the country. Overall, the proclamation of Executive Order 5, meant to improve local content and free up more jobs to Nigerians and give them increased access to procurement opportunities, is achieving its intended purpose,” Buhari said.

    However, the President stated that absence of up to date engineering curriculum in tertiary institutions in Nigeria to reflect the current global trend in engineering had drastically reduced the competitiveness of Nigerian engineers.

    “There is a disturbing gap between engineers trained in Nigeria and those trained abroad. Hence the need for universities to churn out quality and well trained professionals,” he said.

    On the regulations,  COREN President, Kashim Ali, said they were approved by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and would be implemented by the Council.

    “Let me at acknowledge the efforts of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, for the approval of two vital regulations recently. These are the Regulation on Licencing of Engineering Firms and the Regulation on the Construction Industry,” he said

    Ali stated that the regulation on licencing provides for the licencing of various companies, which include consulting engineering firms, engineering contracting firms, engineering manufacturing and production companies.

    Others include companies that are into engineering service provision, vendoring of engineering machines, plants and materials; and fabrication/repair and maintenance firms.