NIOB tasks FG on definite policy to engage local professionals, contractors

THE Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has urged the Federal Government to evolve a definite policy to engage local professionals and indigenous contractors for involvement in the capacity development of industry practitioners.

The NIOB President, Mr Kenneth Nduka, at his investiture as the 20th President of the institute said in Abuja on Saturday that it became imperative because of the ever-changing socio-economic and technological environment.

Nduka appealed to the Federal Government to show greater faith in exploring how best to add good value to societal expectations for policy making undertakings to be advantageously harvested.

“The professional institutions like the NIOB have to be rightly situated as lighthouses guiding the members, the industry and general public from bad practice, corruption, indiscipline and bad governance,’’ he said.

In order to improve operational governance, he pledged that the management and administration would be subjected to periodic audit scrutiny to sustain administrative effectiveness.

He also frowned at the lack of political will on the part of all levels of government to effectively situate and enforce a statutory provision that would professionally drive activities in the built environment sector.

He said lack of political will had exposed the built environment and the industry to confused operational rhythms, wasteful resources deployment, and dysfunctional delivery outcomes.

“This has compromised environmental health and safety, caused proliferation of sick buildings, resultant indulgence to high maintenance cost, prevailing sickening culture of building collapses and pathetic loss of lives and values.

“NIOB is one of the seven professionals uniquely charged with the responsibility of training and re-training of registered potential builders who will deliver infrastructure for safe, healthy, sustainable, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and collapse-free buildings,’’ he said.

As a major stakeholder in the built environment sector, the NIOB president noted that the body owed both Nigeria and Nigerians a lot in building products with the application of technology and prevailing global practice.

He listed other challenges of the building industry as spiralling population explosion, galloping inflation, uncoordinated rural to urban migrations, inadequate provision of housing and infrastructural facilities and a dearth of artisans and craftsmen.

The expert said others were ever-evolving technological challenges, invasion of the sector by quacks and charlatans, interloping built environment professionals, corruption at all levels, undue politicisation and manipulative interventions on professional roles.

He called for a more standardised approach to ethics and public interest and more pooling of resources amongst all the segments of public and private governance and policy structures.

Akin Akindoyeni, a Professor of Building, called for a proper regulation of the sector due to the urgent rise of corruption, lack of prosecution of defaulters and empowerment of statutory laws.

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“NIOB and the Council of Registered Builders of Nigerian (CORBON) have made several efforts to eradicate the canker-worm called quackery in the system but it is always a flop because of lack of government support.’’

The professional, however, condemned quackery in the system and warned those indulging in the acts who were not in any way registered builders to desist from it.