Tinubu backs tougher sanctions for engineers, contractors

President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger sanctions against engineers and contractors who compromise professional standards, saying Nigeria must move from reactive to preventive engineering regulation to protect lives and public infrastructure. The president, represented by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the 34th Engineering Assembly […]

President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger sanctions against engineers and contractors who compromise professional standards, saying Nigeria must move from reactive to preventive engineering regulation to protect lives and public infrastructure.

The president, represented by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the 34th Engineering Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in Abuja.

Speaking on the theme, “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and a Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” Tinubu said effective regulation must focus on competence, accountability and public safety.

He said engineering failures could result in loss of lives, wasted investments and damage to public confidence.

“Regulation should not be seen as punishment. Regulation is protection. It protects the public from incompetence; it protects clients from poor delivery; it protects government from waste and it protects good engineers from being undercut by others,” he said.

Tinubu said Nigeria must strengthen engineering oversight by ensuring that every stage of infrastructure delivery, including planning, design, procurement, construction, supervision and maintenance, meets professional standards.

“We must move from engineering regulation that is mostly reactive to engineering regulation that is preventive, data driven, enforceable and trusted by the public,” he said.

The president added that engineering without regulation was risky, while regulation without enforcement and sanctions would remain ineffective.

Earlier, COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, said the council had intensified compliance monitoring, inspections and enforcement activities across infrastructure projects, construction sites and engineering establishments nationwide.

 

He, however, identified unregistered practitioners, poor compliance with engineering standards, inadequate monitoring resources and weak enforcement by some project owners as challenges affecting engineering practice in the country.

 

Abubakar said COREN was working towards a regulatory system anchored on risk based inspections, transparent enforcement and preventive measures.

 

In his remarks, Umahi said weak enforcement had contributed to poor engineering practices, adding that there were currently inadequate sanctions for professionals and contractors who failed to meet their responsibilities.

 

“There is no sanction for an engineer who is supposed to be on site that is not on site. There is no sanction for contractors that are doing poor quality jobs. There is no sanction for people in our offices and on site that are compromising the standard of our engineering practice,” he said.

 

The minister said stronger regulations would help improve accountability in the construction industry, adding that contractors must be held responsible for the quality of projects delivered.

 

He also called for reforms that would give COREN stronger powers similar to other professional regulatory bodies, saying engineers who violate professional standards should face disciplinary measures.