By My engineers,
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN is set to begin oversight function over contractors at the federal Ministry of Works.
In A Statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Information at the Federal Ministry of Works, Mrs Blessing Lere-Adams, quoted the Minister of Works, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, speaking when he played host to the Chairman of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Engr. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, who visited him at the ministry headquarters in Abuja.
He said: “I want to involve COREN and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in our road construction. l have gone around three regions of Nigeria, I am very dissatisfied with the supervision of these construction works. It seems that it is only in the South West that there are very capable hands and hard-working Directors and controllers, notwithstanding, will put the same template to use in all the regions.
“We would like you to join us as COREN, there is no concrete road constructed in Ebonyi that has not lasted Seven years, we recommend that most of our highways are going to be continuously reinforced highways, this is the vision of the Ministry.”
Umahi further said, “When growing up in engineering we used to have consultants, the consultant would always know that if they compromised their certificates of practice would be withdrawn even at the ministry level, that is the kind of discipline we want to bring on our road infrastructure, there is no supervision in all our projects, like I said other than the South West.
“Henceforth every project is going to have one senior consultant later we can begin to have other junior ones, like surveyors, geotechnical and material engineers, and other road engineers.“
He enjoined COREN to join him in the propagation of the reintroduction of Concrete pavement in Nigeria.
The Minister, who said no road that was built in this country had lasted more than three to four years even in the Northern part of Nigeria, said the roads in the South East are collapsing even while still under construction.
“The design in the roads are mostly built below the flood plain and the rains come, and they are washed away, in his words, the Minister said he counted 9 locations that have collapsed.
COREN promised to play key roles in supervision
The President of COREN, Prof A. Z Sadiq, in his reaction said: “Having listened to you carefully, COREN and NSE will key into these new positions that you have mentioned, the lack of supervision you talked about, will be addressed, and we believe that needs to change totally, we will be able to give our contribution in that respect.”
He said: “COREN has been restructured, we now have, six Regional offices, with Lagos as a special Region, and then the thirty-six state offices with desk offices with seven departments, these will play key roles in this supervision, we have developed a protocol to engage our members, l believe we are going to play a positive role when we develop modalities on how this will be worked out.
“ln the aspect of seven professionals per project we are going to look at that and also contribute, to the introduction of reinforced concrete, there is a ministerial committee with this ministry which has been working on the specification, l am the chairman of that committee with senior expert along with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FERMA and others in the next one month we will make the submission and an interim report to you, that should be the first point of engagement which will expand the horizon for us to this new agenda of concrete road pavement.”
Minister lambasts foreign Contractors over substandard roads…
In a related development, Engr David Umahi, the minister of works, called out the expatriate companies engaged in the construction of road projects across the country, stating that most of the work done was below what is acceptable in their home countries.
Umahi, speaking during a meeting with the contractors in Abuja on Tuesday, said that many of the road projects across the country may not last beyond 4 years, despite huge amount being spent on construction.
“Our expatriate contractors, this cannot happen in any of your countries, it cannot.
“Anywhere there is a project going on, the first thing that is done is the convenience of the people. I feel we are being taken for a ride, and we are being taken for granted. You feel you are doing us a favour, you are not doing us a favour, this is business, and this attitude must stop,” he said.
According to the minister, passengers on a road trip from Abuja to Benin through Lokoja Road, currently spend up to 14 hours, even though the road construction is still ongoing.
Speaking further, Umahi urged the directors to ensure that all contractors are registered with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), adding that each contractor must have at least 15 years of working experience on road projects to avoid failures of contracts.
“Travelling to Benin through Lokoja now takes 14 hours; all the stretches of the road are on contract under the pitiful policies of the last administration. But how many of the roads are motorable?
“I travelled through that by myself and shared tears for the pains our people are passing through. I stayed on the road for 14 hours.
“We must be respected, I’m directed that if you are a project manager in any of our contracts, you must be registered with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and must have not less than 15 years experience on road construction.