… warns against quackery in engineering profession
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to deliver sustainable infrastructure across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Obaseki gave the assurance on Thursday while inaugurating the Edo State Technical Committee (ESTC) and Edo State Expatriate Monitoring Committee (ESEMC) on engineering regulation at the Government House, Benin City.
The governor also commended members of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for their role in ensuring that engineering practice in the country is standardized and in line with global practice.
Obaseki noted: “I want to use this opportunity to commend the council and management of COREN for the tremendous work that you have been doing to ensure that engineering practice in Nigeria comes to standard with what the global practice of engineering is.
“You are doing so by ensuring that relevant code of engineering practice is adhered to, so that we can protect our economy and investment across the country.
“As far as we are concerned, engineering is equal to development because you cannot have any sound development without sound engineering, given the unprecedented democratic change we see in Nigeria.”
According to him, “We are in a race against time; we have to accelerate drastically the pace at which we build our physical infrastructure because we are so short of physical infrastructure both in quantity and in terms of quality.
“If we say the quality of what we are putting out in terms of our physical space is not good enough today, when we now accelerate the pace by creating more, how can we control the quality in future? That is why what you are doing today is commendable and is something that as a state we are totally in support of.”
Governor Obaseki continued: “The inauguration of Edo State Technical Committee for the engineering regulation monitoring of COREN is the birth of a new dawn in what we consider current effort to revolutionalize the practice of engineering in Nigeria in general and Edo in particular.
“With this inauguration, the era of mediocrity should be gone. I am tired of people who don’t have the relevant training calling themselves engineers; engineering is a serious subject and it’s like the practice of medicine.
“I think members of COREN should look at the issue of quackery. We took extreme care and diligence in selecting members of Edo State Technical Committee and Edo State Expatriate Monitoring Committee.
“We also ensured that those selected are from reputable organizations. Therefore, I will like to congratulate members of both committees who have been found deserving for this selection.”
“I urge you to justify the confidence reposed in you and ensure that you perform your assignment with the maximum commitment and credibility,” he advised.
Earlier, the President of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Mr. Ali Rabiu, noted that all practicing engineering firms are now required to obtain their COREN practicing licence as a condition for pre-qualification for any engineering job in Nigeria.
