The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) yesterday blamed the country’s high number of collapsed buildings on unqualified engineers working on most projects.
The NSE president, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, made this known in an interview with newsmen shortly after inspecting the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) head office project site in Maiduguri.
LEADERSHIP reports that during the foundation-laying ceremony for the head office of the NEDC, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, said the project was a step towards fulfilling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promise to prioritise initiatives that safeguard the interests of the North-East.
The vice president added that the head office was not just a building, but a fortress of shared aspirations as a people with shared objectives, noting that the head office shall symbolise the strength of people’s collective will to rebuild, to restore, and to rise above the challenges that have long hindered the progress of the North-East.
The NSE president described the NEDC head office under construction as a very good and well-conceived project, adding the NSE had a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) with the commission, hence the visit to the project site.
On the challenges of building collapse she said, ” We have found out that collapsed building has nothing to do with the engineers who registered with us.”
She, however, said that the society had been advising people on the importance of using professionals in their projects.
She, therefore, urged Nigerians to always consult with the NSE in order to ensure that they use registered engineers as well as the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria which also monitors projects to ensure only qualified engineers were handling their projects.
The 34th president of the NSE also announced that the society’s branch in Maiduguri was collaborating with the NEDC and Borno State government to provide them with professional support in their projects.
