Falana Urges FG To Take Decisive Political Action

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, on Monday, called
for decisive political action on the part of Federal Government to
ensure effective implementation of Executive Order Five.

Falana said this at the on-going Council of Registered Builders
of Nigeria’s (CORBON) congress in Abuja with the theme
“Standardisation and Innovative Technologies for Sustainable
Development in Nigeria’s Construction Industry.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had in February approved Executive
order 5 which mandates Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)
to give preference to local engineering companies in the award of
contracts in the country.

The order is to grant priority to local companies on projects to
the tune of 7.5 per cent, except in the absence of local engineers
that could not execute the projects before international expertise
could be deployed.

“Executive order 5 is part of efforts by the Federal Government
to promote Science Technology Acquisition and innovation in the
country and the sector is the base for development.

“Approving the order will boost the country’s economy and help
the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Executive order 5 allows for monopoly in procurement processes
among MDAs and if the order must work, we need an office in the
presidency to evaluate and monitor its implementation.

“Nigerian registered companies are authorised to supervise
contracts and projects in the country and there must be a decisive
political action on the part of the government to make the
executive order work,” Falana said.

He further said that professionals in the industry should
pressurise state governments to adopt the executive order for the
benefit of all citizens.

According to him, the FG is not taking the right steps in the
right direction for the implementation of the order but
professionals in the sector can facilitate it.

Falana said that the country needed to properly harness its
abundant human and natural resources to avoid relegating contracts
and resources due to citizens to foreign expertise.

He added that harnessing human resources in the country
especially in the building industry required training and
re-training of engineers to meet with the trends in the sector.

“Building professionals have not taken steps to check quackery
and you find people running the industry being foreigners that are
not registered under the law.

“In some situations, preference is given to unqualified foreign
builders at the expense of our qualified local engineers. It is
time registered builders take control of the building industry, “he
said.

He, however, said that the executive order was not a substitute
to any act of the council or other professionals in the
industry.

He pledged to assist the council and other professional bodies
in the industry pursue their acts enforcement.

Falana called on the council to ensure buildings in the country
met with international standards as well as accommodate the plight
of persons living with disabilities.

Mr Suleiman Zarma, Minister of State, Ministry of Works, Land
and Housing said the Federal Government was strategising to liaise
with the private sector to ensure best practices in the building
industry.

“With the high demand of affordable houses by Nigerians and the
need to curb the incessant collapse of buildings in the country,
there is need to engage the private sector”, Zarma said.

Prof. Kabir Bala,Chairman of CORBON said the congress would
provide the platform for players in the industry to network and
interface with investors for professionalism.

Bala said they were collaborating with the Office of the Vice
President through its National Social Investment Programme to train
artisans in the country.

According to him, the training will position the beneficiaries
for meaningful jobs and they will be certified by the council.

Related