The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), on Tuesday, unveiled a series of reforms aimed at strengthening engineering regulation, improving public safety.

The COREN revealed that the Council had accelerated the digital transformation of its operations, enabling online verification of registered engineers and engineering firms from anywhere in the world.

The COREN President, Engr. Prof. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, disclosed this in Abuja, during a press briefing ahead of its 34th Engineering Assembly, said that COREN had inaugurated five regional steering committees, 22 state technical committees and 22 engineering monitoring committees to strengthen nationwide regulatory oversight.

He explained that this year’s Assembly, themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement, and a Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” would focus on strengthening regulatory oversight and preventing engineering failures through stricter enforcement of professional standards.

He described engineering as the backbone of national development, noting that the profession remains critical to the delivery of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda through investments in transportation, housing, energy, mining, telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture and other strategic sectors.

Abubakar expressed concern over recurring cases of building collapse, infrastructure failures, industrial accidents and the activities of unqualified persons posing as engineers, stressing that such incidents undermine public confidence and endanger lives.

According to him, COREN is adopting a new regulatory philosophy centred on strategic engineering regulation, proactive monitoring, risk-based oversight, continuous professional development and stronger collaboration with stakeholders to improve compliance with engineering laws and standards.

He said: “It reinforces our conviction that the ultimate purpose of engineering regulation is not merely to regulate a profession, but to protect lives, safeguard public infrastructure, preserve national investments and build public confidence in the engineering profession.

“Public safety is a shared national responsibility, but engineering occupies a unique position because every sector of our economy depends on safe, reliable and sustainable engineering infrastructure.

“Whether it is our highways and bridges, buildings, power systems, water supply, telecommunications, railways, airports or industrial facilities, the quality of engineering decisions directly impacts the safety and well-being of millions of Nigerians.

“Consequently, every engineering failure is first a failure of compliance before it becomes a failure of infrastructure. Preventing such failures must therefore remain our collective priority.”

Among the achievements recorded since the 33rd Engineering Assembly, the COREN President highlighted the enforcement of admission quotas for engineering programmes in Nigerian universities following approvals by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

He said the Council had also reintroduced the mandatory Engineering Residency Programme (ERP) for engineering graduates before the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), alongside the oath-taking and indexing of engineering graduates to improve professional tracking and practical competence.

He added that the Council had trained and certified 239 Engineering Failure and Forensic Investigators, 868 engineering programme implementers and 839 evaluators to improve quality assurance in engineering education and professional practice.

He said significant progress had also been recorded in developing engineering codes and standards, including safety guidelines for the construction sector and engineering guidelines for roads and bridges awaiting national validation.

Abubakar noted that COREN was expanding international collaborations to secure global recognition for Nigeria’s engineering education programmes under international engineering accords.

Abubakar called for stronger collaboration among government, academia, professional bodies, industry and development partners to build a culture of professionalism, accountability and public safety.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Main Organising Committee and COREN Vice President, Engr. Olu Ogunduyile, appealed to journalists and members of the public to support the Council’s efforts by reporting individuals engaged in illegal engineering practice.

He said: “You may not be engineers, but you can become whistleblowers. Whenever you see quacks or people carrying out engineering work without the necessary qualifications, report them to us so that appropriate action can be taken.”

Ogunduyile said public support would help reduce incidents of building collapse and improve professionalism within the engineering sector.

He also disclosed that Nigeria would commission a new transformer manufacturing factory in Lagos by September as part of ongoing efforts to deepen local content development and strengthen the country’s industrial capacity.

He urged the media to continue highlighting the positive developments within Nigeria’s engineering sector and the profession’s contributions to national economic growth and infrastructure development.