Nigerian Institute of Architects is calling on President Bola Tinubu to implement Executive Order 5 to curb the incessant hike in the prices of cement and other building materials.
The president of the institute, Mobolaji Adeniyi, who made the call yesterday in Abuja, at a press conference also raised concerns on the prevailing situation which she said is rapidly affecting the growth of the construction sector.
She said there is an urgent need for an executive order to arrest the situation while discouraging unnecessary imports.
“We encourage all government agencies to curb its excessive appetite for foreign goods and services. We specifically request that the ‘Presidential Executive Order for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts, and Science, Engineering and Technology, (Executive Order 5)’ which was signed into law on February 2, 2018 be dutifully implemented.
“As a matter of urgency, we should prioritize the use of local materials in project design and delivery. As professionals, we owe our country the onerous duty of providing solutions to seemingly daunting technical challenges. This should be our primary calling as professionals in this era of economic gloom. The challenges may seem very daunting but not insurmountable,” Adeniyi said.
She added that the sector serves as a viable employer of labour and called for dedicated electricity supply to industrial hubs.
According to her, “The construction industry employs over 40% of labour. It is also worth noting that this is coming against the background of a very robust plan by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to develop over 100,000 housing units across the nation this year.
“The plan even includes the establishment of building materials manufacturing hubs across Nigeria, forming part of the actionable strategies to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. These laudable programmes must not be jeopardized by the rising cost of building materials,” she added.
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