Only Engineers Should Head Infrastructure Ministries – Umahi

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has called for the establishment of an engineering college in Nigeria to provide further training, certification and professional regulation for engineers.

He said the establishment of the engineering college became necessary as it was done in the legal profession.

Umahi made the call at the 34th Engineering Assembly of the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Regulation, Enforcement and Tiered Sanctioning Regime” in Abuja.

He said he had been engaging with COREN leadership on the need to create an institution that would strengthen engineering practice and ensure that only properly trained professionals participate in critical infrastructure development.

He explained that his experience during his university education exposed a gap between classroom learning and practical engineering activities on construction sites.

According to him, the gap between theory and practice has contributed to poor-quality infrastructure, including building failures, collapsing bridges and roads with short lifespans.

“We need to create our own college like the Nigerian Bar Association. This is very important. As a young graduate, I discovered that what we were being taught was totally different from what was happening on sites.

“We have a lot of us who should be in the classrooms learning but are out deciding the fate of a lot of people, and that is why you have a lot of buildings and bridges that are collapsing”, he said.

Umahi, who said that engineering deserved stronger recognition because of its direct connection to public safety, commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing him as the first engineer to head the Ministry of Works.

He urged engineers to insist that engineering professionals should be appointed to head infrastructure development ministries.

“Non-professionals do not head ministries like Justice and health, so why would non-engineers head infrastructure development ministries?.

“An engineer is a caregiver, a saver of life, a protector of life and an innovator. When a lawyer makes a mistake, there can be an appeal. But when there is an engineering failure, there is no appeal. Life is lost,” he said.

The minister also called for stronger regulatory powers for COREN, including the ability to sanction engineers and contractors who violate professional standards.

He decried weak enforcement mechanisms in the engineering profession, noting that there were currently insufficient penalties for professionals who abandon project sites, contractors who deliver poor-quality work or individuals who compromise standards.

“In the Nigerian Bar Association, they have strong regulations. They can stop you from practising. We can stop our engineers from practising if we go against our regulations. But we have to make our regulations very strong,” Umahi said.

He also raised concerns about contractors who rely mainly on portfolios rather than technical capacity and investment.
“We must regulate our contractors. If you say you are a contractor, what is your investment in this country? What equipment do you have? What capacity are you bringing?” he asked.

Umahi praised Tinubu’s administration for investing in major infrastructure, adding that the government was currently handling hundreds of major projects nationwide.

He highlighted several ongoing road projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway and other legacy infrastructure projects.

The minister described the projects as efforts to improve connectivity, security and economic growth.
According to him, road infrastructure is central to national development because other sectors depend on efficient
transportation networks.

“Road projects and bridges are catalysts to the development of the overall GDP of every nation. They are the shoulders upon which every other sector will lean to grow,” he said.

Umahi also urged engineers to embrace professionalism, discipline and integrity, warning that officials who fail to perform their duties on project sites would face consequences.

He said the Ministry of Works had introduced training programmes for engineers and was creating classrooms within the ministry to retrain officials removed from field assignments.

“When we bring you back, you will start receiving lectures, especially on those areas where you have failed. When you have passed within six months, we can push you back to the site,” he said.