President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday signed two laws to ensure
mandatory maintenance of public buildings and facilities in
Nigeria, as well as to protect and advance the rights of the
Physically-challenged using such public buildings.
The Minister of Power, Works an Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola,
who made the disclosure in Abuja at a press briefing, said the two
laws on national maintenance framework for public buildings, and
another, to prohibit discrimination against persons living with
disabilities at public buildings were recently approved by the
Federal Executive Council (FEC).
According to him, while the implementation of the law on
maintenance of public facilities will first start with public
buildings and subsequently extend to roads, bridges and airports
among others, the one on the protection of people with disabilities
provides for specific actions that must be taken within a period of
five years to provide opportunities for such persons to live as
normal a life as possible.
He explained that the government considered the economic impacts
of instituting a law on the maintenance of public buildings,
including the jobs it would create for Nigerians and decided to
enact it.
This, he noted, would ensure that on an annual basis, public
buildings would be maintained and then stopped from dilapidating,
adding that it would empower Nigerians at the base of the economic
pyramid who are artisans, and those at the middle of the pyramid
who own small shops for maintenance materials.
“This only applies to public buildings but will ultimately
extend to other public assets like roads, bridges, rail, power
installations and other infrastructure of a public nature.
“What the FEC approval means is that after decades of agonising
about lack of maintenance, the Buhari government has chosen to act.
This is policy decision of enormous profundity because the records
do not indicate that any such policy decision has previously been
taken at the federal level,” Fashola said.
His ministry, he said, submitted the memorandum for the law to
be enacted, adding: “The memorandum argued and FEC agreed, that
maintenance of infrastructure, whether public or private, is not a
cultural issue but an economic one.
“The memorandum showed that in the built industry, only about 23
per cent of the workforce is employed by design (6 per cent) and
construction (15 per cent), governance (2 per cent), while the
remaining 77 per cent are employed by maintenance and
operation.
“Council was persuaded to accept that while skill training and
vocational centres exist almost nationwide for training artisans
like plumbers, painters, bricklayers, welders, tilers,
electricians, there is a lack of national policy that makes the
practice of these vocations economically worthwhile on a
sustainable basis.”
According to him, assessment of affected buildings would be
conducted, and procurement for their maintenance competitively
conducted, with each ministries, departments and agencies
responsible for their maintenance.
“The award of contracts will not only drive employment for
artisans, it will drive demand of manufacturing and suppliers of
parts like wood, pipes, paint, tiles, electrical fittings, windows
and tools, in addition to those of cleaning items like soap,
detergent, polish, varnish etc.
“This is the economy that we see ahead as we set out to
implement this approval starting from buildings, and as I said, and
extending to roads, rail, bridges etc. as we progress,” he
stated.
On the law to protect citizens with disabilities, Fashola said:
“President Buhari raised the bar for construction, services and a
new way of life for Nigerians when he signed the law to protect
people living with disability from discrimination and
exclusion.
“We have five years to comply, and this requires that all our
buildings must have lifts and ramps. By this I mean well designed
ramps for people confined to their wheelchairs, not hills they
cannot use on their own.
“We must modify all our toilets with support for our brothers
and sisters who are living with disabilities, as we must build
sidewalks for them to use our roads without colliding with
vehicles.
“Our airports and parking lots in buildings must become
compliant with international best practice by providing corridors
and facilities for people living with disabilities at arrival and
departure points, while a minimum number of slots clearly
designated must be provided for vehicles owned by people living
with disabilities,” he added.