The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has charged members of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to make sure that their presence in Abia State brings about the enforcement of quality service delivery in areas and sectors they have control over.
The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, FNSE, made this statement while receiving in his office at Government House, the National President of COREN, Prof Saddiq Zubair Abubakar and his team who came on a courtesy visit and also to announce the purpose of their presence in Abia.
He revealed that Abia State Government in a bid to ensure the use of qualitative service and material in constructions in Abia State has plans to establish a material testing laboratory in the three senatorial zones; Abia South (Aba), Abia Central (Umuahia), and Abia North (Ohafia) respectively, hence the readiness to have a proper handshake with COREN in other to achieve that.
He said “We want a process where we can go as far as knowing what is happening in people’s building sites, prevent the use of substandard materials and pull down badly built structures”
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This he further stated is to prevent future loss of lives due to careless constructions and use of substandard materials.
Earlier in his speech, the National President of COREN, Prof Sadiq Zabair Abubakar while thanking the Deputy Governor for his hospitality stated that the purpose of their presence in Abia State is to flag off/innaugrate the state technical committee of COREN and to also inaugurate the expatriate Committee of COREN. This he further stated will usher in and announce the presence of the regulatory arm in Abia State and would give them the opportunity to collaborate with the Abia Government to regulate engineering activities and to ensure that Abia gets credible infrastructure development.
He noted that COREN is a regulatory body that was established in 1970 and is known for enforcing competence, skill and proficiency and pointed out that this can be achieved by making sure that every practioneer is updated and regulated, thereby enhancing discipline and professionalism.
While giving vote of thanks, the Director of Administration, Deputy Governor’s Office, Mr Felix Ukwa, pointed out that Abia
is truly God’s Own State and that every thing placed in God’s hand is safe. He informed them that they are in a safe place and prayed that there activities will be suçcessful.
