BY VICTORIA ONU, ABUJA
THE Federal Government has called for stiffer sanctions against unprofessional and unethical engineers in the country.
It said the sanctions became imperative to safeguard the nation’s prosperity objectives.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said this on Tuesday, at the opening of the 29th Engineering Assembly, organised by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, in Abuja.
Fashola, who spoke through the Minister of State for Works and Housing, Abubakar Aliyu, stressed the importance of engineers, saying sanctions must be done regularly to avoid infrastructure failures.
He said, “Unprofessional or unethical engineers must be properly sanctioned in accordance with the rule of law to prevent them from adversely affecting our national prosperity objectives.
“I learnt that some engineers were recently deregistered for professional misconduct to serve as deterrent for others. I believe these sanctions need to be carried out regularly and necessary to avoid infrastructure failures.”
Also, he disclosed that the FG had commenced the process of developing a new infrastructure master plan up to 2030, stressing that this had progressed significantly.
Earlier in his address, COREN President, Ali Rabiu, lamented the influx of foreign engineering technicians, craftsmen on construction sites across the country.
He said, “According to experts, more than 80 per cent of masons, carpenters, steel fabricators, plumbers, electricians, painters and tilers found on construction sites across the country are foreigners from neighbouring countries of Cameroun, Niger, Togo and Ghana.
“Some firms go as far as China to employ Engineering Technicians and Craftsmen.”
He noted that the skill gap had continued to increase over the years due to the retirement of aged Engineering Technicians and Craftsmen without the young generation being sufficiently groomed to take over from them.
