The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NIQS

  • ‘Nigeria needs efficient procurement process’

    The Nigerian Public Procurement Act, 2007, has the capacity to ensure efficient, transparent public procurement, and enhance national economic growth, if judiciously implemented, the Secretary, Professional Development, Nigerian Institution of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Dr. Ejike Anunike, has said.

    He said aithough a lot has been achieved after seven years of its implementation, corruption, conflicts of interests, fraud and other irregularities, have affected the full realisation of the benefits that could have been derived therefrom.

    Dr.Anunike, said Nigeria has been divinely positioned and blessed with a huge population, stating that if the nation must achieve its developmental goals, an efficient procurement, planning and implementation system is imperative because a lot of public funds are currently being lost to procurement infractions.

    Anunike observed that the proper procurement plans that will ensure early multi-level and multi-sector consultations must be put in place at the onset. He explained that the current 30 year National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), developed by the National Planning Commission is a welcome development. He however cautioned that its implementation should not be truncated by succeeding governments, reminiscent of the National Development Plans of the 1970s and 1980s.

    He regreted that there is lack of capacity by many procurement officers and lack of proper procurement plans in many Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) of governments

    He said the lack of a national integrated procurement plan, notwithstanding, there is hope that one has just been developed for infrastructure.

    He said because many MDAs are still not conversant with all the procurement guidelines, this has resulted in the annulment of many procurement processes, or reversal of awards of contracts by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).

    This has also been due to non-adherence to prequalification guidelines and wrong interpretation of the contentious issue of award of contracts to “the lowest responsive bidder, he said.

    “Discrepancies between budgetary appropriation and actual release of funds; late release of available funds, coupled with subsequent mopping up of funds at the end of the financial year, are all inimical to efficient and effective procurement of construction works, which usually have long project cycles of over six months,” Anunike said.

  • ‘Join in the fight against corruption’

    ‘Join in the fight against corruption’

    Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal has urged quantity surveyors to join in the fight against corruption.

    He said they should expose the contractors using substandard materials and inflating the cost of construction.

    The Speaker, who was the special guest of honour at the closing ceremony of a two-day international workshop of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) in Osogbo, also enjoined the surveyors to have input into the laws about construction to arrest decay in infrastructure.

    Tambuwal, who praised Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on good governance, said he was prominent among those who made his emergence as the Speaker possible.

    Aregbesola described as apt, the theme of the workshop titled: “Towards Sustained Growth of Emerging Economies in Africa: The Infrastructural Imperatives.”

    The governor said Osun State was first in high employment index, while Niger was in the eighth position, adding that the peace in the state was traceable to presence of huge human development in the state.

    peaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal has urged quantity surveyors to join in the fight against corruption.He said they should expose the contractors using substandard materials and inflating the cost of construction.The Speaker, who was the special guest of honour at the closing ceremony of a two-day international workshop of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) in Osogbo, also enjoined the surveyors to have input into the laws about construction to arrest decay in infrastructure.Tambuwal, who praised Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on good governance, said he was prominent among those who made his emergence as the Speaker possible.Aregbesola described as apt, the theme of the workshop titled: “Towards Sustained Growth of Emerging Economies in Africa: The Infrastructural Imperatives.”The governor said Osun State was first in high employment index, while Niger was in the eighth position, adding that the peace in the state was traceable to presence of huge human development in the state.

  • Quantity surveyors urged to enhance standards

    President,Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Mr Agele Alufohai, has urged senior quantity surveyors in professional practice and academics to create a platform to enhance standards of quantity surveying training and practice.

    He made the call in his message to the Convocation of Senior Quantity Surveying Academics in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions at the Department of Quantity Surveying, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).

    The event created an avenue to emphasise the enormous mutual benefit that can be had from close interaction and collaboration between quantity surveyors in the field and those in the academia.

    Alufohai underscored the need for quantity surveyors to collaborate with relevant government agencies and allied professionals to build the confidence of the citizenry in the costing processes associated with public procurement.

    He said: ”Transparency in construction and infrastructure expenditure not only accelerates our economic growth but makes an important contribution to resolving political and security problems.”

    He commended the ceremony as a major landmark in the history of quantity surveying in Nigeria because of the great value of close collaboration between the industry and the world of research.

    In his words: “One of the most valid criticisms one can make of the Nigerian education system is the dissonance between the teaching and research in our higher education institutions and the needs of industry”.

    He stressed that to play a successful role in enhancing governance, quantity surveyors must acquire and disseminate up-to-date relevant knowledge on cost economics theory and practices while mastering the latest value-for-money techniques on public-private partnership projects.

    He enjoined quantity surveyors to work towards excellence, not only in their core competence, but also in other allied construction and infrastructure fields to create excellence in the construction industry.

  • NIQS chief seeks review of abandoned projects, other policies

    HOUSING policies on contract administration and procurement and abandoned projects, among others, should be reviewed, President, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Mr Agele Alufohai, has said.

    He spoke during the Mandatory Leadership Development Programme (MLDP) workshop and Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the body.

    The theme of the workshop was: Corporate transformation and leadership challenges: The construction Sector within the Federal Government transformation agenda.

    He said the profession and issues of importance were becoming known and should be understood by professionals in the industry and public.

    Alufohai said the body has developed a new constitution. He advised that the profession should be better placed to play roles in national development for the benefit of the nation.

    He said NIQS had used advocacy tools, such as media interviews, seminars, advertisements and statements to promote its programmes.

    On affordable housing for all or housing for those who can afford it, Alufohai explained that housing is an important factor in national life and that the money spent on and the proportion of the financial system connected to housing construction and real estate make housing a dominant part of the economy.

    He added: “Housing policy is simply to assist people live in safe and healthy accommodation that they can afford. It will help individuals acquire their own houses. It will enable others to spend as little as possible of their income on paying rent. It will also enable others who might be too poor to pay for any type of accommodation to have a shelter over their heads’.

    He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to concentrate on long term mortgages, which will become the means through which the majority of Nigerians, especially those in urban centres, can acquire homes and also build a system of urban development that is integrated with the construction of low-cost housing.

    To address affordable housing problems, the NIQS boss said contributions by government housing bonds, financial institutions, international sources and good roads should be incorporated.

  • Yaba College honours NIQS boss

    President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS ) Mr Agele Alufohai has been honoured with a special award for professional excellence.

    The award, according to a statement was given by the School of Environmental Studies, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos at the fourth edition of the school’s Lecture/Award ceremony.

    The event, which was hosted by the School of Environmental Studies and held at the College Hall, had as its theme: The role of good governance in national development.

    Speaking the Chairman and Dean, School of Technology, Mr Adigun, said that the award was given toAlufohai in recognition of his contribution to the industry in the past three decades.

    He advised Alufohai and other awardees to consider the honour bestowed on them as a fresh call to contribute more to the growth and development of the Building/Construction environment and the nation at large, adding that the world is aware of their excellent performance and that posterity will never forget them.

    The Chairman used the occasion to advise students to continue with their quest for the top as they are the future of this great nation and the Environmental Society at large.

    In his lecture delivered at the event, Dr. G. S. Mmaduabuchi Okeke of the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, said that good governance requires continued support for a strong and vibrant civil society that would engage the government in a constructive manner to bring about accountability and transparency in governance, and ultimately engender meaningful development.

    He further urged the gathering to build a strong education sector with enlightened citizenry which will aid building a strong economy for the people.

    In his speech, Alufohai thanked the Dean, Staff and Students of the school for the award. He added that the Quantity Surveyors Board remains committed to assisting the nation and citizens in the development of the country’s landscape especially in advocating for an effective economic policy framework that will channel the government’s energy towards ensuring proper project management. He therefore urged students to develop self-confidence and position themselves as prized asset to their employers.

    In appreciation of the award, Alufohai instituted the Agele Alufohai Academic Excellence Endowment, which will provide scholarship to cover school fees, accommodation and feeding for the best overall Quantity Surveying Student studying for National Diploma (ND) 1 & 2 and Higher National Diploma (HND) 1. Akintunde Oyewale subsequently emerged
    successful as the first candidate to win the award. Similarly, the best overall student in HND 2 category will henceforth win N100, 000 annually under the endowment. He assured that the scholarship will last for as long as there is life, noting that this will encourage students to put in their best to academic performance.

    Alufohai is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor of United Kingdom and Ireland and a graduate of Yaba College of Technology.