President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday in Abuja restated the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing infrastructure deficiency in key development areas.
The president said this in an address to the opening of the 2012 annual conference of registered quantity surveyors.
Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of State for Works, Mr Bashir Yuguda, said that addressing the infrastructure deficiencies would create an environment conducive to growth, industrial competitiveness and sustainable development.
He said that the theme of the conference, “Quantity Surveying and Vision 20:2020: The Imperatives and Challenges,’’ was central to the government’s Transformation Agenda.
“The agenda is based on a set of priority policies and programme which when implemented, will transform Nigeria’s economy to meet the future needs of our people,'' he said.
“It is a well known fact that Nigeria's drive towards sustainable development has been hampered by the absence of long-term perspective, lack of continuity, consistency and commitment to agreed policies.’’
He pledged the government’s support to the surveyors’ efforts to ensure infrastructure development and value for money in all projects.
As key professionals in the construction industry, the president said the surveyors “have the patriotic duty to come up with workable recommendations that will ensure proper harnessing and efficient utilisation of Nigeria’s resources for the betterment of our people ‘’.
Earlier, Malam Husain Dikko, President, Quantity Surveyors' Registration Board, urged the government to involve more qualified surveyors in government's plan on infrastructure development.
Dikko said that surveyors had a vital role to play in the achievement of Vision 20:2020.
He said that the cost of projects had been high because quantity surveyors were often excluded in the costing and management of projects.
“High project costs are the biggest threat to Vision 20:2020. I urge government to collaborate with surveyors in project costs to ensure value is earned for money spent on projects in the country.’’
He said the conference was aimed at creating awareness on the possibilities available to the registered surveyors as well as providing a forum for qualified surveyors to share experiences, information and ideas on how they could improve their practices.
Mr Agele Alufohai, the President of Nigerian Institution of Quantity Surveyors, said his organisation was willing to partner with the government to ensure that all projects being implemented with savings from the oil subsidy removal were subjected to “globally-accepted measures of economies and project management''.
He said the surveyors would help to curb the ills that had stalled the provision of infrastructure in the country.
The board, established in 1986, aims to make professional ethics, competence, integrity and the pursuit of value-for money, probity and accountability the central focus of its in regulatory role.