NIOB urges professionals’ collaboration

The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has called on all professional in the real estate industry to collaborate in the discharge their professional responsibilities.

The President of the association, Kenneth Nduka made this call at the opening of 2017 Builders’ Conference/Annual General Meeting entitled; “Regulatory Authorities: Panacea for Building Project Delivery in Lagos State” organized by the Lagos State Chapter of NIOB.

According to him, the ever changing technological, economical, legal and environmental scenarios have precipitated the urgent need to situate building profession as a unique specialization that would rightly address the basic needs satisfying expectations of man is such areas as convenience affordability, structural integrity, functionality and economics.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Abiola Anifowose stressed the need for the seven professional bodies within the real estate sector to come together and deliberate on ways to map out lasting solution to problems confronting the profession in Nigeria.

Expanding the theme with a panel of discussant which featured the General Manger of Lagos State Safety Commission; Hakeem Dickson, the General Manger of LASPPA; OsifuyeOlufunmilayo, General Manager of LABSCA;

ShodeindeNurudeen, and a Professor of building at the University of Lagos; Martins Dada, they called for collaboration rather than competition among the regulatory bodies in the built environment in Lagos State.

Specifically, Prof. Martins Dada stressed the need for the setting up of a Joint Action Board for all professionals in the built environment to stimulate as well as harmonize thinking process and do it right in the industry.

“There should be health and safety plan for every building. Prevention of building collapse starts from the building foundation, the kinds of water used in mixing building materials, the type of cement amongst others. We must get all these right.

Enforcement is expensive; there is the need for voluntary compliance for those concerned. One way or the other building owners in Lagos have flouted the regulatory rules and we can say 80 per cent of buildings in the state are illegal”.