The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CONSTRUCTION

  • Engineers seek solution to challenges in construction

    Engineers seek solution to challenges in construction

    The construction sector cannot attain the desired growth  if the challenges facing it are not addressed, experts have said.

    They spoke at the Nigeria Professional Development Conference tagged ‘Nigeria PDC’ organised by the America Society of Engineers (ASSE) in Lagos.

    Be it construction contracts, road safety or building process, they stressed the need for safety management to avert hazards in construction.

    ASSE Nigeria Chapter President Jeff ‘Vwede Obahor said the aim of the conference was to bring together professionals and industries leader under one roof to share ideas and experiences that will move the country through effective collaboration among the professionals.

    He said the American Society of Safety Engineers is the world’s oldest professional safety society which encourages professionals in the construction sector to be safety conscious.

    He noted that Nigeria,  ranked Africa’s top economy, according to recent government data, and listed as an emerging market by the World Bank, is experiencing enormous growth with its oil reserves and the construction projects needed to bolster its infrastructure.

    According to Fumilayo Akinlade, an official with Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the America Society of Safety Engineers is committed to protecting people, property and environment, saying the group’s messages deserve rapt attention by professionals in the built environment.

    “We know you manage risk, attempts to reduce the frequency of failures that failures occur , the consequences are life threatening. The Federal Road Safety Corps being the lead agency in traffic management, ensuring safety on our roads and creating good and safe road culture in Nigeria,”she said.

    Akinlade said all hands must be on deck to ensure safety consciousness is imbibed in the various sectors.

     

     

  • ‘Local Content Act establishment not enough’

    ‘Local Content Act establishment not enough’

    Oladimeji Oganla, the Executive Director, Business Development of Concrete Design and Works Limited, in this interview with Adediwura Aderibigbe, speaks on his approach to work and the Nigerian Local Content Act among other issues. Excerpts

     

    Oladimeji Oganla
    Oladimeji Oganla

    What is CDW’s business philosophy?

    Our philosophy is based on local ownership, we take into cognisance the fact that ownership must be indigenous at set up, we needed to establish a firm that would compete with other foreign firms in a competitive market; add value and also fill the lacuna that has been created in the construction industry in Nigeria. We were very determined to outshine other construction firms, we had sleepless nights, we saw the whole thing as making our success and other variable an opportunity cost scenario, it was either we succeeded or we failed, so we had to forgo one for the other, but I will tell you categorically that it wasn’t easy at all, considering the fact that we, the management team came from a diverse discipline. Just one of us trained as a civil engineer. We all learnt on the job and only few trained engineers can outsmart us as I speak to you today.

    You recently won an award as Outstanding Indigenous Construction Firm, what do you think earned you the award?

    Well, the award came as a surprise to us, we do not even believe we are there yet, we are just going to be three years old in the industry this year; so it came as a big surprise I must confess. Although it’s been motivational for the staff and management, we were really excited when we got the award, but in my quiet times, I begin to think if we really deserved the award or not, but the truth is if God says yes no one can say No. I’m also of the opinion that our crusade for implementation of the local content act in Nigeria earned us some recommendations and fame. We are thankful to the organisers of the National Career Fair for recognising us amidst other qualified indigenous construction firms; we are totally committed to offering qualitative solutions to government, corporate organisations as well as individuals at affordable rate. The era of building collapse as well as outdated building designs are over, we are prepared, willing and also motivated to add value, when I say value I mean great value.

    Building collapse has been a recurring problem especially in Lagos State, as a professional, what would you attribute to the cause?

    Most property owners believe more in using quacks for their building. They compromise standards. I am not saying everyone should patronise professionals, but standards should be met, whoever does not have a name to protect can easily maximize profit by using irregular mixture, substandard materials and so on, What is the essence of trying to save professional fees when eventually the building you have spent so much on would eventually collapse, or dilapidate before time. If you examine critically the standard and quality of pre-colonial houses in Lagosa, they are still very strong at over 50. It is because these houses were built by professionals, and quality control measures were put in place. So it’s high time we started to appreciate professionalism in Nigeria. A tailor should avoid doing carpentry work just because he wants to save money. A jack of all trade can never be master of anything.

    How can the problem of building collapse be tackled?

    As I mentioned earlier, we should stop compromising professionalism, let’s re-orientate ourselves, the problem of building collapse would be reduced drastically if not eradicated completely. Fortunately, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria has proposed death penalty for those involved in the construction of collapsed building across the country. This development came after the Federal House of Representatives expressed concern over the occurrence of building collapse in the country and appealed to relevant stakeholders and regulators to put an end to the trend, the house of assembly were also implored to enact a criminal law on owners of collapsed buildings as obtainable in international countries like Malaysia and Singapore. If all these things are implemented, it will be a positive step towards the right direction.

    How big is your workforce?

    We currently have no fewer than 51 members of staff, out of which 7 are expatriates.

    What are the challenges being faced by the company and industry at large?

    The major challenge is funding. You will agree with me that no economy would thrive without an unaltered mechanism of wealth distribution, there are so much to be done in terms of infrastructural development in Nigeria, recently the federal government came out to say it requires 2.9 trillion dollars for infrastructural development, that’s about 100 times our entire budget for a year (both recurrent and capital). With this figure, it is so obvious we are not even operating at a deficit, we are not even in contention at all, so we should try as a nation to at least use positively the funds we have to at least achieve a conducive infrastructural environment to drive other sectors of the economy, we in the industry know what to do, the funds are just a major hindrance, also the non-implementation of the local content act in the construction industry is also affecting indigenous firms such as ours.

    Can you mention some of high profile projects you have carried out?

    We’ve carried out various projects from inception till date, some are completed, some are ongoing and we still discussing on some other ones as well, example at the top of my head are 12 units of luxury duplex at Ajah Lagos for Bridge Solutions, road construction at Kotangora in Niger State, 10 story luxury apartment on Webb Road Ikoyi amongst others. Also in view is consultancy at ecological fund, a 1000 unit of housing in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and a private university at Nasarawa State, Nigeria. We have also successfully signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a hospitality firm in Ghana to build their brand of four-star hotels across 10 countries in West Africa concurrently, that’s the biggest project we have now.

    Has the government been fair in terms of the local content act?

    On the establishment of the act, I say yes, but on implementation, I say no! It is one thing to establish a law, it is another to implement. The office of the president on job creation should device measures to ensure compliance in terms of employment and also contracting. We all know that with full implementation of this law, a rapid growth would occur, in fact the growth and development would definitely be at a geometric progression. Our government needs to do more for its people, Nigerians do not need to be spoon-fed, they are hardworking people, they just need laws that would favour them to tackle poverty and joblessness, we need a very serious and committed government at the centre, I am not a politician but I admire the government of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola a lot. It is a very serious government, they make laws and implement it, they are not joking, they are working assiduously for the welfare of Lagosians, and we need such serious government at the Centre.

    Where do you see the company in the next five years?

    We are driven by our own vision 2020, 5 years from now is 2019, we have a blue print on our road to success already, and by God’s grace, the sky is our limit. We are hopeful and determined; we are energized, motivated, collected, all to a single course to be the biggest in West Africa and being a household brand like the Julius Berger’s of today.

    Do you feel threatened by competition?

    No we don’t, competition is very healthy; it makes you do right what other people are doing wrong. It makes one very creative, also there are lots of projects to be done in this country, the infrastructural deficit in the country does not even tally with the number of both indigenous and foreign construction firms. There is room for every construction firm to get engaged as long as they possess what it takes to operate under the terrain, our system even encourages synergy among construction companies. We are registered as sub-contractors for some big names and also we have small companies that are also registered with us. If our existing manpower does not correspond with the jobs we have at hand, we outsource to other companies that are capable.

    What does it take to be awarded a project contract in Nigeria?

    I am not the government but from my own experience, I have observed that one needs to know the people that matter in government, then track records are also very essential, whoever is giving you a job wants to be sure that you have handled such in the past and you are also capable of doing it again. By and large, one must be positioned appropriately.

     

  • Reforming local government for efficiency

    Reforming local government for efficiency

    The functions of local government as spelt out in Section 7(5) of the constitution is as follows:

    • Consideration and making of recommendations to the state commission on economic planning or any similar body on economic development of the state, particularly sin so far as the area of authority of the council and of the state are affected;

    • Collection of rates, radio and television licenses;

    • Establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and homes for the destitudes;

    • Licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled trucks), canoes, wheel barrows and carts;

    • Establishment, maintenance and regulation of markets, motor parks and public conveniences;

    • Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, drains, and public highways, parks, open spaces, or such public facilities as may be prescribed from time to time by the House of Assembly of a state;

    • Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses;

    • Provision and maintenance of public conveniences and refuse disposal;

    • Registration of births, deaths and marriages;

    • Assessment of privately-owned houses or tenements for the purpose of levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a state, and

    • Control and regulation of out-door advertising and hoarding, movement and keeping of pets of all dispensations, shops and kiosks, restaurants and other places for sale of food to the public and laundries.

    In addition, local governments are also expected to work hand in hand on the provision and maintenance of primary education, development of agriculture and natural resources and provision and maintenance of health services.

    Instead of performing these functions, many local government chairmen nowadays neglect them and engage in dubious empowerment programmes to cover up their non-performance of these constitutional roles.

    Questions have however, been raised about the economic viability of the councils. This is debatable. Some local governments in the urban centres have capacity to generate substantial internally generated revenue that can assist them in the discharge of their developmental functions. In the same vein, there are councils in remotest parts of the country with little or nothing to fall back to, except the federal allocation.

    Nigeria is a federal state. According to Prof. K. C. Wheare, federalism connotes “the method of dividing powers so that “general” and “regional” governments are each, within a sphere, c0-ordinate and independent”. This universally accepted proposition presupposes that, in federalism, only two centres of authority; the central and state governments, are recognised. Therefore, labeling the council as another tier of government is contentious. It must be assumed that the abuse of the powers of control over the councils by the state and federal government compelled the agitation for an increased autonomy for councils.

    Crisis between state and local governments permeate the inter-governmental relationship. Across the federation, between 2007 and 2006, council chairmen and governors were at loggerheads over illegal deduction of council funds by the states, with governors threatening to sack chairmen who raised serious objection. For example, former Ekiti Central local government chairman, Hon. Taye Fasubaa, cried out that he was being victimised for objecting to the diversion of council funds and illegal deductions by the governor. In 2012, when President Jonathan suggested that the Joint State/Council Account (JAC) should be abrogated and local governments should receive its allocations directly from the federal purse without recourse to the governors, the suggestion did not go down well with the councils.

    In recent times, chairmen whose name have appeared in the black book of the governors forfeited their offices through the dissolution of the councils, in active connivance with the Houses of Assembly.

    In Ibarapa local government, former Governor Rashidi Ladoja delayed the swearing-in of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) council chairman, who defeated the candidate of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the poll. In fact, in some states in the Southeast, Southsouth, Southwest, and Northcentral, governors have resisted attempts to hold council elections, to the consternation of anxious aspirants.

    Local governments are also oppressed by the Federal Government. This suppression preceded the current democratic dispensation. In consonance with its centrist approach, the Abacha Administration dazed the country when he appointed a minister of local government.

    The 1999 Constitution, which is the legacy of Abdulsalami Administration, also created friction between the federal and state governments over the control of the local governments. The federal government insisted that states lacked the power to create more councils belong to it, claiming that all the councils have already been listed in the constitution. Former Katsina State Governor Umaru Yar’Adua, who later became President of Nigeria, had to retrace his steps by axing the newly created councils in the state, out of fear. Actually, the power to create councils in Section 8(3) is vested in the House of Assembly. But Section 8(6) gives the power to ratify the creation and list newly created councils to the National Assembly. Many are clamouring for the review of the constitution to clear this area of friction.

    In Lagos State, Tinubu Administration created additional 37 local councils. Despite the fact that they were created by legitimate state authorities, the Federal Government disagreed. The allocations due to the pre-existing 20 local governments were seized by the Obasanjo Administration. Also, the Senate refused to list the new councils in the constitution, despite the referendum that gave their creation the nod.

    In fact, in a memo to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who had earlier directed that the withheld allocations should be released, the Ministry of Justice advised him to terminate the newly created councils, saying that they were undermining the judiciary and challenging the authority of the federal government. Irked by the incessant harassment, House of Representatives member, James Faleke, former chairman of one of the councils not listed; Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA); said: “The victimisation of Lagos councils by the federal government undermines the right of Lagosians to development”.

    How have the existing councils fared nationwide? Have they justified the people’s confidence? In Lagos, the House of Assembly members were still inundated with complaints during the town hall meetings that many chairmen showcased cosmetic achievements.

    One of the bane of the councils is the bloated bureaucracy. Many experts think that the councils should trim down so that money spent on maintaining gigantic structures could be deployed to capital expenditure. For example, it has been pointed out that the council cabinet is too large and burdensome. Council chairmen maintain extensive political structures. They appoint too numerous supervisory councillors, special advisers, special assistants, and personal assistants like the President and governors, making the recurrent expenditure to soar. This is at the expense of capital expenditure.

    There is also the need for reforms in other areas of council administration, particularly in making sure that the trio of chairman, council manager and treasurer are closely monitored to prevent outright embezzlement and misappropriation of council funds.

    To improve efficient service delivery, stakeholders have offered the following suggestions:

    • Local governments should localise administration by implementing a formula

    for conducting need analysis through the involvement of Community Development Associations/ Committees

    • Chairmen and councillors should hold town hall meetings regularly to collate input into local policy formulation and implementation

    • Procedure for public accountability should be created and strengthened in the local government

    • The House of Assembly should closely monitor the financial activities of the councils to reduce corruption.

    • There is the need to maintain small political bureaucracy to avoid an upsurge in recurrent expenditure

    • The Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs should evolve mechanism for proper monitoring and evaluation of council developmental projects

    • It is better to encourage retired men and women of integrity to serve as part-time councillors and supervisors, instead of young men who are in a hurry to make money.

    • Code of Conduct Bureau should vet the material acquisition of functionaries, based on their prior financial status as reflected in the asset declaration forms.

    • CDC should resist attempts to impose councillorship and chairmanship candidates on their wards and councils by godfathers and leaders of political parties.

     

  • Training for market makers

    Training for market makers

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has signed an agreement with J. STREICHER Advisory LLC (JSA), one of the top NYSE-designated market makers to train market makers on the NSE.

    All market makers on the NSE must compulsorily attend the training, according to a directive from the NSE.

    The training, which is scheduled between January 20 and 22, 2014, is expected to cover areas, such as trading industry, orders and order properties, market structures, order driven markets, informed traders and market efficiency, order anticipators, bluffers and market manipulation, market making tools, risk management, best practices and technology among others.

    Market making initiative started on the NSE in September 2012 with the commencement of a hybrid market system that allows market makers to provide two way quotes and licensed brokers.

    The NSE had initially in April 2012 appointed 10 stockbrokers as market makers. These included Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Renaissance Capital, Future View Securities, Vetiva Capital, ESS/DunnLoren Merrifield, WSTC Financial Services, Capital Bancorp, FBN Securities, Greenwich Securities and CSL Stockbrokers.

    Market making is a technical term that generally refers to the system of providing liquidity to securities through provision of bid and offer prices in the trading system of a stock exchange.

    Market makers can be categorized according to the level of liquidity supports they provide. A primary market maker is regarded as the foremost liquidity provider of a particular security while the supplemental market maker acts as a supplementary liquidity provider.

     

     

  • Improving transparency in public construction

    SIR: At the third Building and Construction Round Table (BCERT3), a two-day workshop organized by the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBON), with the theme “Enforcing Transparency and Accountability in the Nigerian Building and Construction Sector”, held at Musa Shehu Yar’ Adua Centre, Abuja, from May 23-24, the issue of transparency and accountability in the construction industry were discussed.

    The workshop held that lack of accountability is the major challenge to construction sector in Nigeria, which can only contribute a paltry 2.0% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012. The communiqué said that Quantity Surveyors are construction cost consultants from the beginning of a project to the end and implored them to always live above board.

    Quantity Surveyors are not only the factors affecting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s construction industry. Our culture is a big challenge. When a contractor wins a construction contract, his colleagues and associates, family members and friends see it as manna from heaven, celebrate with him and urge him to see it as “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity and a share of the national cake.

    The anti-graft institutions like Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) were established to ensure there is zero tolerance to corruption in all sectors of the economy. The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) was also established to instil sanity into public procurement and backed by Public Procurement Act 2007.

    But these institutions have not lived up to expectation because of their challenges major of which is the lack of federal government interest to eradicate corruption in Nigeria. If government is interested in forestalling corruption, at least in the construction industry, it will subscribe to the membership of Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST).

    CoST is a country-centred multi-stakeholder initiative designed to promote transparency and accountability in publicly financed construction across the globe. It has as members, countries like El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Malawi, Philippines, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Vietnam and Zambia.

    At CoST’s core is the belief that the processes involved in the construction of public infrastructure must be made more transparent. The public must be armed with the information they need to hold decision makers to account and to ensure better value for money in the construction sector. CoST is making this ideal a reality.

    CoST is a governance initiative that employs a multi-stakeholder approach. It involves government procuring entities and oversight agencies, private sector consultants and contractors, and civil society groups working together to improve transparency. It is a catalyst to driving change. It encourages demand and pressure for transparency by bringing together interested stakeholders from the public, private, and civil society sectors. CoST seeks to complement rather than replace a country’s supervision, audit, regulatory, investigative, and judicial functions. The complexity of the construction sector presents a major challenge to improving transparency. Nigeria’s construction industry will benefit if Nigeria can subscribe to its membership.

    • Olufemi Oyedele,

    Lagos

  • Kano as a construction site

    When I sauntered into Kano recently, I got swept off my feet. I marvelled at what I saw, just some four months after my last visit. From the Zaria road entry route down to my destination, I saw impressive development projects springing up, all over the place. Kano, all of a sudden, is like a new capital city being built from the scratch. It is turning into an Abuja of sort – or even something higher – with the level of ambitious projects all around. While the FCT’s construction works is largely concentrated on roads, that of Kano cut across all infrastructural needs. As I pondered over the foresightedness and patriotism fuelling execution of such mass projects, I wondered if my brother, Ibrahim, who has been in Malaysia in the last three years could be able to identify certain places upon his return. It was this homecoming that also made me realise why some folks on the social media platform, Facebook, shower praises on the governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. I never cared to join such discussions around the personality of the governor who some people call Audu Bako of the modern age. I thought it was the usual political gimmick and that odious attitude of bootlicking that our politicians are so much adept to. However that weekend trip to Kano changed all that pre-conceived opinion I had about what is happening in Kano.

    Of course, on my visit in December, I had noticed a number of things springing up here and there, including the wonderfully designed and constructed blocks of classrooms dubbed Kwankwasiyya; itself an ideology springing up out of the governor’s demonstrated patriotism a la Awoism and Zikisim. The classrooms, which are also tastefully furnished using modern building mechanisms, dot the roads and alleys of Kano from Bebeji local government (on coming from Kaduna State) to the farthest or remotest part of the state. There were equally other road expansions here and there.

    However, on this recent trip, the projects are overwhelmingly many and gigantic in sizes. From Kwanar Dawaki area, there were two mass housing schemes that welcome one to the city of Dabo. The projects, I understand, will collectively provide 32,000 houses in what is called Kwankwasiyya city – located at Amarawa in Kumbotso local government – and Amana City, situated at nearby Gurjiya, in Dawakin Kudu local government. The third of the threesome called Bandirawo is being sited at Tumfafi, on the way to Katsina State. The housing scheme, I came to discover, was also not your type of government mass housing that would be constructed without provision for necessary infrastructure. Already, the government had pumped billions to provide amenities such as dual carriageways complete with drainages, water reticulation and electricity. Provisions have also been made for schools, a five-star hotel and international conference centre apart from the houses that were also categorized in such a way that all manner of people could be able to queue in. As we drive into Kano that Friday afternoon, all I could see from each of the two sites was appreciable level of work as many of the buildings were nearing completion. I learnt that the same situation applies at the Bandirawo City located on the other side of the town.

    Move a few kilometres to Karfi, around the headquarters of 7Up, one will observe expansion of the Zaria road being done by the state government. The scope of the project involves expanding the ever-busy road to three lanes. Drainages are also being constructed on both sides, as well as streetlights. This extends up to the popular Silver Jubilee round about where construction of the first ever fly-over in Kano city is fast taking shape. The objective of the ambitious fly-over project was not only about beautification of the city centre but also to ameliorate the gruelling traffic jam that is often times characteristic of the city, and a hindrance to its commercial activities. The fly-over, which starts from the Kofar Nassarawa, from the walled city, flies over two major roundabouts and descends on State Road by the Audu Bako Secretariat. It is a twin fly-over with the other one starting at Gidan Murtala and crossing over to Radio Kano roundabout, at the intersection between IBB Road, Ibrahim Taiwo Road and Obasanjo Road.

    For the two days that I drove around the metropolis, I saw literally a thousand and one construction works, from roads to schools, fencing and interlocking, making me to keep juggling with the phrase that eventually I am using as title of this piece. Because the level of infrastructural decay is so appalling, the governor has to literally declare a state of emergency on bad roads and decayed infrastructure generally. A couple of roads are under construction at Farms Centre, Kabuga-BUK New Site Road is being expanded and dualised; Dorayi-Panshekara is under construction, so also Sharada Road. I began to wonder; how is this man financing these gargantuan projects? Because there was a time in Kano when we were told that government could not do much because of paucity of funds due to large salary voucher but here is Kwankwaso doing it all without sacking any worker. Well, the governor had actually blocked revenue leakages and exorcised the civil service of all ghost workers following months of difficult but worthwhile verification exercise. It is a little wonder therefore that the governor announced 2013 fiscal year with a whopping N20 billion as backlog cash in the government’s kitty.

    There is no gainsaying that Kwankwaso is a messiah for Kano at this material time, looking how he tackles various developmental problems head-on. While appealing for government to fast-track what it is doing especially by ensuring timely completion of these road projects (like the Sharada and Sheikh Jaafar Roads), I am bold to echo the commendation for Governor Kwankwaso as espoused by the Kanawa; this is yet another Audu Bako in administration and patriotism and an Aminu Kano in ideology.

     

    • Safiyanu writes in from Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja

     

  • Construction workers lament abuse of expatriate quota

    Construction workers have called for the government’s intervention in the alleged abuse of the expatriate quota by employers in the country.

    Rising from their Fourth Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the workers under the aegis of the National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) condemned the abuse by employers in the industry. They said the implementation of the quota is not in tandem with the Nigerian Content Development Act, which states that Nigerians should be considered first in any employment before foreigners or expatriates.

    In the communiqué issued at the conference attended by 445 delegates, and signed by the President of the union, Oba Samuel Adeoye and General Secretary, Comrade Babatunde Liadi, they urged the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to ensure that there is need for expatriates in any company before granting work permit to any foreigner. They added that the government should step up efforts to check the influx of expatriates into the country.

    The conference also demanded that the Understudy Clause in the Nigeria Expatriate Quota law be respected, while many of the companies should comply with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Development Act.

    On employment generation, the union noted that unemployment is one of the greatest problems facing the country and commended the efforts of the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment to encourage local and foreign private investors on job creation.

    It, however, called for “more concession to be granted on essential imported raw materials that cannot be locally sourced by manufacturing companies to jumpstart the economy as this will enable them generate more jobs in the country.”

    The conference-in-session also demands that the government needs to be more practical in her focus on the agricultural sector, to enhance employment and job creation, stimulate food security and alleviate poverty as well as reduce crimes.

    Issue of unemployed youths came to the fore, and the conference recommended that the government should evolve a social security package for them as it is being done in other countries.

    Income tax system in the country was adjudged inadequate. The conference-in-session demands that the “income tax laws be realistically reviewed with the focus on the relief system to be in correlation with the current economic realities in the country.”

    It noted the adverse effects of the recent action by some local and states government to impose taxes on member-firms, especially quarry companies.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Construction of LADOL’s floating vessel, technology institute underway

    Construction of LADOL’s floating vessel, technology institute underway

    After due technical and commercial examination, the management of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) is set to start the construction of the company’s planned floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

    The firm’s technology institute is also billed for take-off in Lagos.

    Its Executive Chairman, Oladipo Jadesimi, told The Nation on the sideline of the Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, that the company has begun to invest in requisite facilities for the integration of the FSPO, while the construction of the technology institute would start very soon.

    He said LADOL is partnering Samsung Heavy Industries for the development of the FPSO and the construction of the technology institute, to be called Samsung Nigeria Technology Academy (SaNTA). The institute is expected to impart the requisit technology and skills in various aspects of the oil and gas operations on Nigerians.

    Jadesimi said: “On the construction of the FPSO. We have gone far. We are now preparing to invest in the facilities that will be required for the integration of the FPSO.” He also dismissed fears over the draft of the LADOL free zone considering the massive size of an FPSO. He said the water depth of zone is deep enough.

    “As you know, the FPSO is a very large vessel and the channel is deep enough to accommodate the safe inward and outward passage. Before you embark on any project, you will do thorough investigation into all technical aspects that have to do with safe operation.”

    He said the projects have a lot of prospects, contrary to what some stakeholders believe. He explained that when the promoters of LADOL embarked on the project some 10 years ago, their target market was not just Nigerian waters. It is clear that the whole of the West African sub-region was and still highly prospective in oil and gas, which means that there is very high likelihood of discoveries, he said, adding that the assumed prospects have been proved right with the discoveries in Ghana, Sierra-Leone and Liberia.

    “These are all offshore discoveries and all of them will require facilities that we are preparing to execute for the whole region because the discoveries are all offshore and as you know, our specialty and focus is solely on the offshore.

    “Expenses on the onshore are all taken care of and our focus is in the offshore part of the project,” he added.

    Jadesimi said Nigeria still has dearth of technical capability, especially for complex technology based oil and gas infrastructure, such as FPSO.

    “It is not just in oil and gas. We are not there yet. We need to build capacity in all sectors and in all industries, but with respect to the deep offshore, I agree that it is very complex, however, we need to make a start. Making a start initially means combining with world class operators that will feature in the venture, but the most important factor is to commence immediately on training Nigerians and increasing capacity and capability.

    “One of the things that we are starting very soon is the construction of technology institute in LADOL, in conjunction with Samsung that will train Nigerians in various aspects in deep offshore operations. That is the way to do it. We have to build indigenous capacity by training and giving opportunity of workplace experience, among others.

    “This hasn’t happened before, but it is happening now. For that we have to thank our President for the Local Content Act, because this Act now mandates increasing percentage of contracts to locals, which is essential because it means increase in investments, not just from sale of oil and gas, but from investment in the assets that will produce this oil and gas.

    “We have trained Nigerians and many of them are active all over the world, but they didn’t have the opportunity in Nigeria. So this will create the opportunity.

    “Whether it is FPSO or any other technology, the critical factor is clearly the extent to which we have indigenous capability. If we have institute of technology to train people, it doesn’t have to be any particular technology.

    “When Norway first discovered deep offshore oil and gas, at that time they didn’t have any experience or technology in deep offshore, but because they are highly industrialised economically with highly experienced populace, within a space of 20 years, they had developed indigenous technology of the highest order in deep water oil and exploration and production. So the key is to acquire the technology.

    “I am sure that we will find brilliant Nigerian scientists that would themselves evolve new technologies and that is the only way to go. People are the most important resource anywhere.

    “Another example is Singapore that doesn’t produce a barrel of oil or gas and yet, they probably have the largest refining capacity in the world, which means they are adding tremendous value locally to oil and gas industry.

    “We need to invest in people, technology acquisition and once we have these, we have everything. The only way is conscious effort in the direction of training people and increasing local capacity,” he stated.

  • Construction begins on Ogun

    Construction work has begun on the 100km Ilara-Oja Odan road in Imeko Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun yesterday commended the pace of work during an inspection visit to the site.

    He promised to construct an additional 1km road linking the Ilara town to the neighbouring Republic of Benin as requested by the community during the inspection.

    He reiterated the commitment of his administration to open up the rural areas through massive road construction.

    Amosun said access road was crucial to economic empowerment.

    His words: “You need good roads to get your farm produce to the markets within and outside your local council and state.

    “Everybody needs excellent road network to save productive time, reduce stress, accident and other losses associated with bad or lack of access roads,” Amosun said.

    The road, according to the governor, will be of Ogun standard, complete with median, drainage, among others.

    The people of Ilara in the neighbouring Benin Republic, who trooped out in large numbers to receive the governor, expressed gratitude to the Senator Amosun-led government for ending their distress.

  • Engineers seek legislation on design, construction

    Engineers seek legislation on design, construction

    THE Association of Consulting Engineers (ACEN) has advocated legislation on engineering design, construction and consultancy services in construction industry.

    Prof. V.O.S. Olunloyo made the call in a paper entitled: Advocacy for legislation on engineering design, construction and consultancy in Nigeria, which he delivered at the 34th Annual Conference/Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ACEN.   Speaking on the theme Nigerian content: Where are we, Olunloyo, who is a consulting engineer, said indigenous engineers have been relegated to the  background in favour of  foreign firms due to their mono-disciplinary in composition and interests.

    He said: “Most firms have less than 20 professionals on their role and hardly any with staff strength of 100. We need to be open to the idea of forming consortia when bidding for projects. Evidently, there is marginalisation in favour of multinational or local representatives of multinational firms because they are generally broad-based and multidisciplinary”.

    Olunloyo observed the challenge of negotiating a fair scale of fees because of the poor image they have generated due to the size of their firms, which are not competitive.

    He canvassed the need to form alliances with other groups, such as the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Association of Professional Bodies and others to form critical mass as a pressure group.

    The consulting engineer called for legislation to make provision for outsourcing a stipulated minimum percentage of the project- work given to multinationals to local consultants and by extension make it a condition for registration.  He regretted the absence of institutional organs for involving local professionals in major economic activities and projects.

    He said the government should insist on the auditing and documentation of the use of local consultants and personnel at every stage of an engineering project in the country.

    Special effort, he said, should be made to ensure that the proposed legislation covers emerging technology to create a niche for engineers in the global market especially in the area of software.

    The don said care should be taken to ensure lawmakers are aware that enough experts reside in the country and should therefore to be given first chance and final say in matters of consultancy of public and private building projects.

    A past president of ACEN,  Dr Joseph Folayan, who spoke on The integrity of Nigerian  engineers, said engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct, have full regard to the needs of society by protecting  public interest and  preserving the integrity of the profession.

    He said for the public to appreciate the worth of an engineer,  the national engineering body provide an impartial service of high quality in accordance with the national engineering code, co-operate with association in any inquiry with regard to a complaint brought against a member under this code of conduct or any other misconduct.

    Besides, he said the integrity of a particular professional is seen in the code of conduct of the profession and its adherence by her members.

    Folayan urged his colleagues to ensure that their principals and staff conduct themselves in such manner to uphold and advance the integrity, honour and dignity of the engineering profession.

    He added that they must stick to the high ethical standards as enschrined in ACEN Articles and Act in professional matters as a faithful agent or trustee for employers or clients.

    Folayan also insisted that  to ensure integrity engineers must  not affix their signatures or seals to any engineering plan or document dealing with subject matter in which they lack competence by virtue of education or experience or to any such plan or document not reviewed or prepared under their supervisory control.

    Folayan noted that the first law of the engineering profession states that an engineer shall  hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public while the second says: “An engineer  should  ensure  honesty with himself  and restrict his services to only areas of  his competence.”