By Isqil najim
The Annual Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN Assembly has ended. Here we presents the tit bits from the event. The 32 Engineering Assembly theme: “Regulating Engineering Profession for Shared Prosperity in Nigeria” in Abuja
1 Year Post-graduation Training For Engineering Graduates
The President of COREN, Prof. Sadiq Abubabar said, “In response to the goals of the current FGN Administration, the Council approved the resuscitatation of the Supervised Industrial Training Scheme in Engineering (SITSIE) under the new name of Engineering Residency Programme (EREP) and planned to engage the National Assembly to seek legislative backing. Council would be seeking legislative backing to ensure that engineering graduates undergo a one-year industrial training before going for their National Youth Service Corp program.
“This is a one-year post-graduation training programme for all engineering graduates of an accredited university or polytechnic, designed to meet practical experience requirements for the purpose of registration with COREN as a professional engineer or an engineering technologist similar to the practices of Medical, Pharmaceutical, etc professions”.
He said relevant organisations like NUC, NBTE, ITF, MAN, NSE, NATE, and others have been contacted and all expressed their readiness to participate and support the initiative.
Government should return Funding COREN
The Council also called on the federal government to return funding of the council’s activities.
“COREN is ever ready to improve its performance in regulating engineering education, training of practitioners and their practices in line with the global ethics and standards to ensure the prevention of the failures engineering infrastructure and safeguard lives and Properties of the citizenry. The Council is therefore appealing to the FGN to continue to fund COREN similar to its peers in funding regime for the benefit of the nation the health sector. It is our hope and prayer that the FGN would reconsider its position to return the Council into funding regime for the benefit of the nation” The president said.
Accreditations of Technical Colleges and New Registration Cadre to cover informal sector
The President of COREN announced that the informal sector will be allowed to have some certification or licensing. He stated that the Council has approved the creation of a new register for the cadre of Engineering Artisans in line with its mandate.
Abubakar disclosed that COREN and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) will commence accreditation of technical colleges in Nigeria in the coming academic session.
“The new NSQ levels 1-2 under the NSQF which FGN (Federal Government of Nigeria) included in the Scheme of Services of Nigeria has given the required recognition and backing to the laudable policy.”
“In the same vein, COREN being a member of NSC was charged to pilot Sector Skill Council for Engineering (SSC4E). Arrangements had reached an advanced stage with NBTE and other relevant organizations for the inauguration of the SSC4E. This will herald the commencement of the processes of training, certification, and licensing of Artisans in the Engineering Sector in Nigeria.
“COREN is the awarding body, NBTE is the regulatory body while NAE will chair the SSC4E comprising of diverse interest groups in Engineering including employers of labour, professional bodies, academia, private sector, etc in line with NSQF manual approved by NSC,” Prof Abubakar explained.
Building Collapse, creation of Engineering Intelligence & Surveillance (EIS) Task force and whistle-blower policy
In order to check the incessant failures of engineering infrastructure, especially building collapse across the country, COREN has constituted a “National Technical Committee to drive the ERME at national level similar to existing practice at regional and state levels”.
The Council has established a task force and created a tracking template to investigate building construction and collapse in Nigeria. The task force would be inaugurated by the Minister of Works.
Abubakar added that the ERME inspectors are to be supported by Engineering Intelligence & Surveillance (EIS) Task Force and EIS Whistle Blowers operating at national, regional and state levels.
“The required regulatory instruments needed to support the ERME Inspectors, Taskforce, Whistleblower, Engineering Infrastructures failures and forensic investigators are now ready for use.”
To facilitate and decentralize regulation, the President noted that before the end of 2024, the body will have offices in all 36 states of the nation including the Federal Capital Territory, to work alongside the already established seven regional offices.
Minister of Housing Commended COREN Reforms and Restructuring, called for standards enforcement and collaboration
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Musa Dangiwa said that COREN remains one of the most important regulatory partners in the building sector, underscoring the significance of the standards and professional ethics enforced by the body in ensuring the quality, safety, and resilience of housing and other infrastructure.
He said: “The standards COREN sets and the professional ethics it enforces are crucial to ensuring the quality, safety, and resilience of housing and infrastructure projects across the nation.”
Dangiwa raised the issue of building collapses, which he said have plagued the country for a long time. He said, “As the Minister of Housing & Urban Development, I can tell you that effective regulation of the construction/built sector is key to my ministry, especially to curb the ugly developments of incessant collapse of buildings and other infrastructure”.
Despite COREN not being directly under the supervision of his ministry, he emphasised the importance of synergy, teamwork, and information sharing among professionals between COREN and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to enable proactive measures against potential engineering failures
Nasarawa state Gov. Engr. Abdullahi Sule challenges engineers to solve power challenges
Governor of Nasarawa state, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, on his part revealed that his state has become one of the four states contributing at least N1 billion to the federation through improved harnessing of mineral resources.
He however, lamented that Nigeria was still generating less than 6,000 megawatts of power in 2024.
The governor recalled that the original ambitious plan, which was a part of the vision 20:2020 that was supposed to bring Nigeria to be among the twentieth richest country in the world.
“We know about the various power challenges in the country, in the year 2009 when the vision 20:2020 was formed, I was in the power committee, we were generating about 6,000MW of power, we made a commitment and say that either from hydro, gas turbines and other areas of power production, we were going to be producing 50,000MG of power by the year 2020 and we will be the 20th economy.”, he recalled.
Needless he lamented, today, Nigerians are 15 years later and are still generating less than 6000 we used to generate.
“Nigerians are intelligent. Nigerians have the capacity. Engineers in Nigeria are some of the best engineers that you can find. So we must do something to be able to practice and show that we are truly engineers that are making this impact,” Abdulahi Sule stated.
Chairperson of Dublin Accord was the keynote speaker
The Keynote Speaker, Prof. Megat Noor, Chairperson of the Dublin Accord and Governing Group International Engineering Alliance (IEA) and President Malaysian Society of Engineering and Technology, said that engineering professionals made decisions that affected the public.
Noor said,`A regulated engineering profession became a solution to the “uncontrolled” environment to ensure the consumer and public are well protected.
“Regulatory bodies built on ensuring those who qualified academically and exhibited professional competencies after going through supervised training to practice engineering works.
“Developing engineering human capital with adequate regulation is a prerequisite to building a nation’s energy sector and infrastructure thus allowing greater industrialisation and technological advancement, and consequently eliminating poverty towards shared prosperity.’’
NSE committed to champion interests of Engineers
The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, Speaking at the 32nd Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Assembly during the Engineering Family Session, assured of the NSE’s readiness to engage any Ministry, Department, or Agency (MDA) that fails to adhere to the Nigerian Content Law, especially in instances where expatriates are considered over Nigerian Engineers or when foreign products are favoured over locally-available alternatives.
The President encouraged Engineers to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and excellence in their workplaces, also urged them to prioritize continuous professional development, remain current with industry advancements and sharpen their skills to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving engineering field.