Fashola urges surveyors to promote competitiveness in Nigeria’s infrastructure development

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola says  it is the responsibility quantity surveyors and construction cost management experts to promote competitiveness in all aspect of infrastructure development in Nigeria.

Fashola, represented by Mr Dickson Onoja, the Director Quantity Surveying in the ministry, said this at the “7th Building and Construction Economic Roundtable (BCERT 7)’’ in Abuja on Thursday.

The event was organised by the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) with the theme: “Nigeria’s Competitiveness in Global Quantity Surveying for National Development’’.

He said that the nation’s competitiveness lies in its ability to offer goods and services that meets quality standard for both local and world markets.

Fashola said this could be achieved through prices that were competitive and provide adequate returns of the resources employed in providing them.

“For any nation to optimise its potential, it must embrace competitiveness. Services constitute the largest component of Nigerian’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) sector composition.

“Competitive service delivery by Nigeria professionals like quantity surveyors is consequently bound to impact the nation’s economic growth and development greatly.

“The theme of the event is highly relevant to the economic reforms and advancement programme of the Federal Government which is designed to pull the economy out of recession to the part of growth, development and prosperity.’’

He, however, said that productivity, innovation and resourcefulness were imperatives for competitiveness.

The minister called on quantity surveyors to regularly update themselves on present development and knowledge within their profession as frontier of knowledge of most professions were changing and expanding in the global space.

He said that Nigerian quantity surveyors should not only be good for Nigeria but be equally capable of competing globally for service excellence.

“You should contribute your own quota in Nigerian’s match toward global competitiveness through high quality professional services that can stand global competition.

“Quantity surveyors should strive to achieve the international certification for their professional services, this is the way through which we can realise our aspiration for Nigeria’s competitiveness in global quantity surveying.’’

The President of QSRBN, Malam Murtala Aliyu, said that the aim of the roundtable was to attract contributions and ideas from participants to move the industry and the economy forward and to integrate it to sub-regional, regional and global economy.

According to him, the built industry of the economy is among the most strategic sectors of any economy.

Aliyu said that the construction sector was therefore a strategic sector in re-inflating any economy that had slide into recession as we presently have in Nigeria.

“The major objective of the annual roundtable is to set and sustain our overall national development agenda by maximising the contribution of the built and construction sector of the economy to the mix.

“Implicit in a globally competitive economy is the availability of massive employment opportunities, especially for our youths and our very active population.

`It is our belief that no country can achieve sustainable economic growth and development without having its teeming youths employed and engaged in viable economic activities,’’ Aliyu said.

Aliyu said that the agenda of the Federal Government was to place the Nigerian economy on the right path for sustainable growth and development.

He said that the history of the development of any nation would not be complete without a special place for the roles played by professionals.

The President, Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Mrs Mercy Iyortyer, said that quantity surveyors should reposition themselves in global competition not only in infrastructure but in all areas of interest.