The President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Prof Sadiq Abubakar, has insisted that there’s a need for appropriate and timely sanctions to curb the recurring collapse of the national grid, building, and road infrastructures.

He made this observation in Lagos recently while speaking with newsmen after the inauguration of the Lagos Regional Steering Committee, which is part of the COREN’s move at decentralising its activities and operations across the six geopolitical zones.

Abubakar said decentralising COREN’s activities would give room for timely responses and sanctions where necessary in order to save the lives and property of Nigerians.

He said, “The recurring national grid and building failures require a robust regulatory and legal framework to mitigate the incidents. Every aspect of our lives deals with engineering. So, we are very conscious of that, and that’s why we must save the life and property of the citizenry.

“If you look at the incessant collapse of the national grid, this is one aspect of the COREN mandate to set up an investigation panel and to identify what’s really happening so that we can handpick all those culpable and try them under the tribunal.

“Collapse of bridges, road network and dams, all these are key engineering infrastructures that until and unless we have robust regulatory system that is very responsive and that’s responding to be able to have sanctions, penalties and apply them appropriately and timely, they will not be able mitigate a lot of these affordable incidents in our country.”

Abubakar noted that COREN has established and empowered the Regional Steering Committees to serve as a key organ for compliance and enforcement at the regional level.

In his address, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy, Babafemi Hamzat, said COREN’s efforts to restructure and modernise the engineering sector are a testament to commitment to excellence.

He said, “As the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State remains committed to supporting initiatives that promote excellence and innovation in the engineering sector.

We recognise that the success of our infrastructure projects and industrial goals depends heavily on the competence and integrity of our engineers.

“Therefore, we will continue to collaborate with COREN and other stakeholders to ensure that engineering practice in Nigeria meets global standards.”