Quantity surveyors warn construction professionals against quackery

The president of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Kene Nzekwe, has warned that construction professionals who lack the required training and competence risk being deregistered by the regulatory authorities. Speaking at a press conference to mark the 31st NIQS Biennial General Meeting in Abuja, Nzekwe said the institute would no longer tolerate quackery […]

The president of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Kene Nzekwe, has warned that construction professionals who lack the required training and competence risk being deregistered by the regulatory authorities.

Speaking at a press conference to mark the 31st NIQS Biennial General Meeting in Abuja, Nzekwe said the institute would no longer tolerate quackery or unethical practices in the sector.

“It doesn’t matter if you are educated; as long as you are not trained to do it, it is still quackery. But if you are trained to do it and you have the competence to do it, it will be taken that you are fit and proper to carry out that responsibility,” he said.

Nzekwe said any member found guilty of professional misconduct would face sanctions, including deregistration. “Once anybody is established to be involved in any kind of infraction, I can assure you that one of the things that will be done is to deregister him. Every unethical practice is viewed as a very serious infraction,” he said.

He added that erring professionals would be reported to the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) for further disciplinary action. He said, “We will report him after we have established that he was indeed involved in acts that will tarnish the reputation of the profession. We will report him to the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria, which will now have the authority to confiscate his licence so that he will not be able to practise in Nigeria as a QSRBN.”

Nzekwe stressed that construction cost management must be handled strictly by qualified professionals, saying, “You cannot entrust a matter that has to do with construction cost management to somebody who is not trained to do so.”

He also called for continued engagement with the government and other stakeholders to strengthen professionalism within the industry.