We need to focus on materials used for construction to stop building collapse – COREN

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has called on the need to focus on the materials used in construction industry to stem the incessant road and building collapse in the country. The President of COREN, Prof. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, said the use of inadequate and substandard products has become a bane […]

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has called on the need to focus on the materials used in construction industry to stem the incessant road and building collapse in the country.

The President of COREN, Prof. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, said the use of inadequate and substandard products has become a bane in quality construction.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, Abubakar said COREN in collaboration with Council of Registered Builders in Nigeria (CORBON) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) came to express support for the upgrade and equip engineering testing laboratories across the country to aid test for engineering materials for construction of infrastructures and projects.

“One of our major challenges as a nation is incessant building collapse, failures of roads, bridges, dams, and all critical infrastructures that we have been having. The way to stem and tackle this in the most systemic way is to focus on the materials that are being used in the construction,” he said.

He said the regulators are ready to provide technical and professional support for the initiative to take off.

He also said there is a need to strengthen the National Skill Qualification Framework to train, certify, register, and regulate artisans.

“Artisans that are involved in the construction industry, that are involved in anything that is engineering at the level of artisans in oil and gas, power and energy, mining, telecommunication, agro-allied and so many other sectors.

“So, we have agreed to support the ministry again to ensure that we accredit the training centres, which the ministry is already having training a lot of the artisans,” he added.

On his part, the Chairman of CORBON BLDR, Samson Opaluwah, said the agency would collaborate  with the ministry to bring innovative methods to address peculiar challenges as a nation.