Timely sanctions will mitigate building failures — COREN

The President of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Prof Sadiq Abubakar, has insisted that there’s a need for appropriate and timely sanctions to curb the recurring collapse of national grid, building and road infrastructures. He stated this in Lagos while speaking with newsmen  after the inauguration of the Lagos Regional Steering […]

The President of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Prof Sadiq Abubakar, has insisted that there’s a need for appropriate and timely sanctions to curb the recurring collapse of national grid, building and road infrastructures.

He stated this in Lagos while speaking with newsmen  after the inauguration of the Lagos Regional Steering Committee.

The regional steering committee is part of the COREN’s move at decentralising its activities and operations across the six geopolitical zones.

Abubakar said decentralising COREN activities would give room for timely responses and sanctions where necessary in order to save life and property of Nigerians.

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According to him, the recurring national grid and building failures require robust regulatory and legal framework to mitigate the incidents.

He said, “Every aspect of our lives deals with engineering. So, we are very conscious of that and that’s why we must save the life and property of the citizenry.

“If you look at the incessant collapse of the national grid, this is one aspect of the COREN mandate to set up an investigation panel and to identify what’s really happening so that we can hand pick all those culpable and try them under the tribunal.

“Collapse of bridges, road network and dams, all these are key engineering infrastructures that until and unless we have robust regulatory system that is very responsive and that’s responding to be able to have sanctions, penalties and apply them appropriately and timely, the will not be able mitigate a lot of these affordable incidents in our country.”

He said COREN has established and empowered the Regional Steering Committees (RSC) to serve as a key organ for compliance and enforcement at the regional level. 

In his address, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy, Babafemi Hamzat, said COREN’s efforts to restructure and modernize the engineering sector are a testament to commitment to excellence. 

“As the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote excellence and innovation in the engineering sector. We recognise that the success of our infrastructure projects and industrial goals depends heavily on the competence and integrity of our engineers.”