Building collapse: Ensure application of standards in your operations – Minister

The Minister of Power, Mr Abukakar Aliyu, has called on engineers in the building sector to be proactive and ensure standard operations in the discharge of their duties.

Mrs Odutayo Oluseyi, Assistant Director, Press, Ministry of Power, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

The minister spoke against the backdrop of recent building collapse in the country during a visit by the Deputy President/President-elect of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mr Gidari-Wudil, in his Office.

Aliyu while congratulating the NSE President-elect, reminded him of the enormous responsibility bestowed on him as the President.

He said that Government is making lots of investment in the area of infrastructure which engineers are critical stakeholders.

He said “the huge investment in the area of infrastructure of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is commendable.

He advised the incoming president to ensure the application of professionalism through proper procedures and specifications.

The minister urged Wudil to synergise with government to curb further calamities occasioned by infrastructural defects.

Responding, President-elect of the NSE assured the minister that the Nigerian Society of Engineers under his watch will be proactive and up and doing.

He further said that the society would work closely with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and other bodies to ensure application of professionalism due to the strategic nature of the Engineering profession.

Earlier, the chairman, investiture committee of the NSE, Mr Olu Ogunduyile, said the visit was to formerly inform the minister of the investiture of the President-Elect, Gidari-Wudil, scheduled to hold on Jan. 22, 2022.

He said the administration of Gidari-Wudil would focus on Academia-Industry Relationship, which is aimed at collaboration between the academia and industry players.

“It is also to bridge the gap between Engineering Technologists and Technicians, reviving Technical Education, aimed at boosting the Economic Growth and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation, among other things,” Ogunduyile said.