To accelerate the provision of houses, the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) has proposed the development of a robust national housing delivery strategy that encompasses training for building professionals, especially builders, technologists, technicians and trades artisans.

The council said the strategy should include the production of local building materials and the re-organisation of building materials marketing systems to ensure quality control and easy access across the country.

The Chairman of the council, Dr Samson Opaluwah, who made these recommendations at an event to mark the 35th anniversary of CORBON in Abuja, explained that the government needs to develop a responsive social housing programme with the sole purpose of supporting the housing needs of the vulnerable groups in the society. He called for the review of the current system of access to land for housing development by individuals and developers on an equitable basis.

“Access to mortgages should be liberalised with appropriate safeguards such that the youth would be capable of home ownership. Nigeria needs a national housing estate development policy at all levels of government to boost quality housing delivery in the country.

“The country needs a sustainability strategy for housing and estates to ensure continuous use and functionality during the useful life span of the building. National roll-out of a programme of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to up-skill, certify and license informal artisans to improve their quality, proficiency, capacity to deliver and self-esteem.”

According to Opaluwah, the more activities are generated in the building and construction industry, the more skilled and unskilled persons are employed. “In addition to being a driver of economic growth, the building and construction sector has the potential to address the problems of unemployment and its attendant socio-economic consequences,” he said.

MEANWHILE, CORBON has warned 329 new builders to uphold the profession’s values and warned that it will discipline any registered members found to have engaged in unethical or unprofessional conduct.

Opaluwah who stated this at the 24th induction ceremony in Abuja, regretted that, in recent times, the country has witnessed a disturbing trend of building collapse, often resulting in tragic loss of life and property, calling on them to work together to prevent such tragedies.

“As a council, we are taking bold steps to engage with governors to enact and enforce state planning laws that will ensure adherence to building codes and standards, which we believe will drastically address these issues.”

Also, the former President of the Federation of Construction Industry, Solomon Ogunbusola, urged the new inductees to think out of the box, saying, there are many fields for them to gainfully engage and work to improve by using the emerging technologies.

Contributing, the Royal Father of the Day, Matthew Oguche Akpa II, congratulated CORBON for its successes over the decades, calling on the builders to maintain a high standard of the profession and contribute to nation-building.

Akpa said the body carries a weight of responsibility on the shoulders of the members and charged the council to continue to maintain a reputation of service excellence or tardy performance.

Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, challenged the professionals to maintain their names in the built environment, highlighting the emerging areas of opportunities for builders to deliver sustainable solutions.