NAN-HE-4
Board
By Lilian Chukwu
Lagos, July 24, 2017 (NAN) Mr Olusegun Ajanlekoko, past President of the Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), has appealed to the Federal Government to establish a board to regulate construction industry activities nationwide.
Ajanlekoko made the appeal on Monday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the Institute’s 9th Annual Distinguished Lecture in Lagos.
He said that absence of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) was the major factor militating against growth of the Nigerian construction sector.
According to him, most of the foreign countries like Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa that have effective construction sector, operate with a functional CIDB.
“The construction industry performance is a source of worry in this country.
“The Nigerian construction industry has been highly unregulated and that is why the industry is stagnant and nothing seem to be moving in it.
“The solution lies in having a board that will regulate and champion everything that has to do with the construction industry in Nigeria. Government must be the catalyst,” Ajanlekoko said.
He said that Nigeria could benefit massively from proper regulation of the physical planning and environmental aspects of the industry.
Ajanlekoko said it was unfortunate that Nigeria had became a dumping ground for sub-standard building materials.
“We do not have standards; Nigeria has become a dumping ground for lots of sub-standard goods and it is a source of worry for professionals and those who are stakeholders.
“ If we have a sub-sector that has to do with physical planning, physical environment like they do in most developed countries, lots of misconducts and mistakes will be corrected in the industry.
“The construction industry adds to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of any nation, but we have quite a lot of shoddy, inferior materials being brought in; there is no control,” he said.
He, therefore, urged the government to save the industry from total collapse by establishing CIDB that would serve as the regulatory body to ensure holistic regulation of the industry nationwide.
He also urged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to set up an in-house unit to monitor and evaluate the quality of materials used for construction. (NAN)
LUC/BOLA/IA
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(Edited by Bola Akingbehin/Idris Abdulrahman)