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Tag: Executive Order-5

  • FG begins audit of construction sites to enforce Executive Order 5 – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday, said the Federal Government has begun auditing of construction sites to ensure enforcement of the Executive Order 5.

    Fashola made the disclosure at the second edition of the annual BRF GABFEST organised by some youths to honour him in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that in February 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved Executive Order 5, mandating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to give preference to local engineering companies in the award of contracts in the country.

    The order is to grant priority to local companies on projects to the tune of 7.5 per cent, except in the absence of local engineers that could not execute the projects before international expertise could be engaged.

    According to him, a council for the enforcement of the order which seeks the prosperity of Nigerians has been set up.

    “The president has issued an executive order called Executive Order number 5.

    “”What the order seeks to achieve essentially is that anytime our economy produces opportunities, we must ensure that if Nigerians are able to do that job, we give them preference.

    “And it does not matter whether the loan is coming from China or India or from Kaura Namoda .

    ” The truth is that loan is a contract to borrow money which we will pay back;it is not a contract to sign away our sovereignty,’’ he said.

    He said the council for the enforcement of the Executive Order 5 had him, (Fashola) as a member and Ogbonaya Onu, the Minister for Science and Technology as the Chairman.

    “Some of the quick things we decided to do first is that, in my own department, we are going to audit all our construction sites.

    “On all our construction sites, we started audit and we want to find out how many ECOWAS citizens are working here.

    “If you are an ECOWAS citizen, you do not need a visa but you need a work permit.

    “We heard that Ghana supposedly deported some of our people, it is a right that every country has, if you violate their immigration laws.

    “It is a right we have never exercised and we are going to exercise it now,’’ he said.

    The minister urged foreigners with legitimate papers who want to work in Nigeria to follow the regulation in line with global practices.

    He explained that his ministry had also begun enforcement and sanctions on erring contractors who defy the Executive Order 5.

    “These are the policies about jobs and employment that are in place by the President Buhari led government,’’ he said.

    Fashola also emphasised the importance of maintenance in infrastructure and projects.

    “Maintenance is a critical income generation and major employer of labour.

    “Over 70 per cent goes into maintenance and operation in the building industry while designs employ about six per cent of capacity, with construction and governance accounting for only 15 and two per cent respectively.”

    Fashola said a facility management system had been proposed to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to ensure maintenance of the nation’s assets.

    He said that it included assessment of prisons, federal hospitals, courts, secondary schools and other public buildings.

    According to him, the maintenance framework will create mass employment opportunities in roads, rail, housings and other sectors

    “We once thought that maintenance was a culture but it is not a culture but an economy,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • Executive Order 5: Falana urges FG to take decisive political action

    Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, on Monday, called for decisive political action on the part of Federal Government to ensure effective implementation of Executive Order Five.

    Falana said this at the on-going Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria’s (CORBON) congress in Abuja with the theme “Standardisation and Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Construction Industry.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari had in February approved Executive order 5 which mandates Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to give preference to local engineering companies in the award of contracts in the country.

    The order is to grant priority to local companies on projects to the tune of 7.5 per cent, except in the absence of local engineers that could not execute the projects before international expertise could be deployed.

    “Executive order 5 is part of efforts by the Federal Government to promote Science Technology Acquisition and innovation in the country and the sector is the base for development.

    “Approving the order will boost the country’s economy and help the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

    “Executive order 5 allows for monopoly in procurement processes among MDAs and if the order must work, we need an office in the presidency to evaluate and monitor its implementation.

    “Nigerian registered companies are authorised to supervise contracts and projects in the country and there must be a decisive political action on the part of the government to make the executive order work,” Falana said.

    He further said that professionals in the industry should pressurise state governments to adopt the executive order for the benefit of all citizens.

    According to him, the FG is not taking the right steps in the right direction for the implementation of the order but professionals in the sector can facilitate it.

    Falana said that the country needed to properly harness its abundant human and natural resources to avoid relegating contracts and resources due to citizens to foreign expertise.

    He added that harnessing human resources in the country especially in the building industry required training and re-training of engineers to meet with the trends in the sector.

    “Building professionals have not taken steps to check quackery and you find people running the industry being foreigners that are not registered under the law.

    Read also: Evans: police hid me from Falana in toilet

    “In some situations, preference is given to unqualified foreign builders at the expense of our qualified local engineers. It is time registered builders take control of the building industry, “he said.

    He, however, said that the executive order was not a substitute to any act of the council or other professionals in the industry.

    He pledged to assist the council and other professional bodies in the industry pursue their acts enforcement.

    Falana called on the council to ensure buildings in the country met with international standards as well as accommodate the plight of persons living with disabilities.

    Mr Suleiman Zarma, Minister of State, Ministry of Works, Land and Housing said the Federal Government was strategising to liaise with the private sector to ensure best practices in the building industry.

    “With the high demand of affordable houses by Nigerians and the need to curb the incessant collapse of buildings in the country, there is need to engage the private sector”, Zarma said.

    Prof. Kabir Bala,Chairman of CORBON said the congress would provide the platform for players in the industry to network and interface with investors for professionalism.

    Bala said they were collaborating with the Office of the Vice President through its National Social Investment Programme to train artisans in the country.

    According to him, the training will position the beneficiaries for meaningful jobs and they will be certified by the council. (NAN)

  • ‘Executive Order-5, major driver in national development’

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) President, Mr. Adekunle Mokuolu, has described the Executive Order-5 just signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari as a major driver in national development and technological advancement that the country has been yearning for.

    Mokuolu, an engineer, who spoke at the weekend during the 60th anniversary of NSE and the  installation of Mrs. Rose Madaki as the sixth chairman of Victoria Island Branch, noted that the Order would help accelerate development through the use of indigenous engineers.

    The Oder-5 ensures that the country is able to save cost in the delivery of her projects. It also ensures the delivery of intellectual knowledge, including accelerating technology and development through local content participation.

    Mokuolu emphasised that the Executive Orde-5 addressed the issue of engaging expatriates in public and private organisations to execute engineering and technology jobs to the detriment of qualified Nigerians because it deals majorly with local content.

    “This is the first time that the Presidential Order is giving priority to Nigerian engineers, and whatever that has to be achieved would be beneficial to the country. The maintenance culture that we have been talking about would be addressed with this Order-5. This is because as people get involved in the project, they will acquire maintenance skills. Before this Order, expatriates are fond of not putting Nigerians through projects they execute, thereby making it difficult for us to maintain such projects once completed; this also makes the country dependent on these foreign engineers, at huge cost to the country,” Mokuolu explained.

    He added that this recent development would help reduce the increasing level of unemployment in the country.

    Madaki, shortly after her decoration as the sixth chairman, noted that her mission is to introduce engineering and technological innovations into schools, beginning from the rural areas. She pointed out that she would want the engineering impact to be felt in the rural areas, adding that she was collaborating with some organisations to drive the vision.

    Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON)Director-General, Gen. Bamidele Ogunkale, who was the guest of honour at the event, said innovative research and development (R&D) is a vital to national development.

    He called for a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in innovative R&D, stressing that the government cannot do it alone as it is very expensive to sponsor researchers and research innovative-based institutions.

    Gen. Ogunkale said DICON, in collaboration with a Chinese firm, has started manufacturing ammunition for the Armed Forces, adding that this would not only reduce the country’s import bill on ammunition, but would also save the nation problems of delay in responding or curbing crimes that needed urgent and swift attention.

  • ‘Executive Order-5, major driver in national development’

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) President, Mr. Adekunle Mokuolu, has described the Executive Order-5 just signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari as a major driver in national development and technological advancement that the country has been yearning for.

    Mokuolu, an engineer, who spoke at the weekend during the 60th anniversary of NSE and the  installation of Mrs. Rose Madaki as the sixth chairman of Victoria Island Branch, noted that the Order would help accelerate development through the use of indigenous engineers.

    The Oder-5 ensures that the country is able to save cost in the delivery of her projects. It also ensures the delivery of intellectual knowledge, including accelerating technology and development through local content participation.

    Mokuolu emphasised that the Executive Orde-5 addressed the issue of engaging expatriates in public and private organisations to execute engineering and technology jobs to the detriment of qualified Nigerians because it deals majorly with local content.

    “This is the first time that the Presidential Order is giving priority to Nigerian engineers, and whatever that has to be achieved would be beneficial to the country. The maintenance culture that we have been talking about would be addressed with this Order-5. This is because as people get involved in the project, they will acquire maintenance skills. Before this Order, expatriates are fond of not putting Nigerians through projects they execute, thereby making it difficult for us to maintain such projects once completed; this also makes the country dependent on these foreign engineers, at huge cost to the country,” Mokuolu explained.

    He added that this recent development would help reduce the increasing level of unemployment in the country.

    Madaki, shortly after her decoration as the sixth chairman, noted that her mission is to introduce engineering and technological innovations into schools, beginning from the rural areas. She pointed out that she would want the engineering impact to be felt in the rural areas, adding that she was collaborating with some organisations to drive the vision.

    Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON)Director-General, Gen. Bamidele Ogunkale, who was the guest of honour at the event, said innovative research and development (R&D) is a vital to national development.

    He called for a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in innovative R&D, stressing that the government cannot do it alone as it is very expensive to sponsor researchers and research innovative-based institutions.

    Gen. Ogunkale said DICON, in collaboration with a Chinese firm, has started manufacturing ammunition for the Armed Forces, adding that this would not only reduce the country’s import bill on ammunition, but would also save the nation problems of delay in responding or curbing crimes that needed urgent and swift attention.