The President of the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) Obafemi Onashile has called for the establishment of a Building and Engineering Commission (BEC) to regulate the construction industry.
He advised that membership of the proposed regulatory agency should be drawn from each of the regulatory bodies in the construction industry including the nominees of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Ministry of Works.
Speaking at this year’s QS Assembly and induction of newly registered quantity surveyors in Abuja, Onashile lamented that the construction market as it is today, is an open market with all sorts of people parading themselves as contractors, consultants, and professionals.
He emphasised the need for the Federal Government, professionals, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders to urgently set up a central regulatory agency.
Onashile, who spoke on the theme; “Enhancing the Quantity Surveyors’ Capacity in Building, Engineering and Infrastructure Development Contracts, Dispute Management and Resolution”, said the creation of the commission has become imperative to save the sector from unwholesome practices, especially the activities of quacks.
The QSRBN president stated that the Building Code enacted in 2006 has not been fully adopted because of several issues with it. “There must be a paradigm shift in the approach to solving the ills of our market. The building code needs to be reviewed effectively to make it enforceable and the commission regulates it.”
On quackery, Onashile said, “It is not only in surveying that there are quacks. We have quacks as contractors, professionals or designers, and surveyors. We are escalating the issue of control now in the market. The market cannot be controlled by only one profession to address building collapse and ills in the industry.”
In his remarks, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa assured the board of Federal Government’s resolve to engage with stakeholders to design and implement policy reforms that foster transparency, professionalism, and accountability across the housing and construction value chain.
Dangiwa, who was represented by Pemi Temitope, observed that the ministry has keyed into the Renewed Hope Agenda through landmark initiatives like Renewed Hope Cities and Estates, slum upgrade intervention and Public Private Partnership projects.
