The Dangote Group and the Federal Government have called for stricter regulation, stronger enforcement and tougher sanctions against erring engineering practitioners to tackle infrastructure failures and improve public safety in Nigeria.
They made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the 34th Engineering Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in Abuja, where stakeholders argued that weak enforcement, poor professional standards and institutional lapses continue to undermine infrastructure delivery.
Representing President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, the company’s Chief Economist, Prof. Hassan Mahmoud, said engineering regulation should evolve from merely reacting to failures to anticipating risks before they occur.
He described engineering as “a public trust,” warning that failures in the profession result not only in financial losses but also loss of lives and investor confidence.
“Public safety begins long before an infrastructure asset is commissioned. It begins at the drawing board—in design calculations, material specification, construction supervision, quality assurance and, above all, distinguished professional engineers,” he said.
Mahmoud argued that effective regulation should distinguish between administrative lapses, professional negligence and deliberate misconduct, with sanctions proportionate to the gravity of each offence.
“An effective sanction must always be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the risks posed to public safety. Enforcement must be transparent, objective and consistent, irrespective of status, influence or institutional affiliation,” he said.
He, however, cautioned that many engineering failures stem from broader systemic problems, including weak procurement systems, political interference, disregard for professional advice and poor maintenance culture.
“If these underlying issues are ignored, regulation will merely address the symptoms rather than the root causes of the problem,” he added.
Drawing from the Dangote Refinery project, Mahmoud said engineering decisions sometimes increased construction costs but were necessary to guarantee safety and long-term value.
“Safety is not an optional feature that can be added later. It is embedded in every engineering decision,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, called for amendments to engineering laws to strengthen COREN’s enforcement powers, including the authority to sanction engineers who compromise professional standards.
“There is no sanction for an engineer who is supposed to be on site but is absent. There is no sanction for contractors doing poor-quality jobs or inflating project costs. We must make our regulations stronger so that enforcement will also become stronger,” he said.
Umahi argued that engineering failures are irreversible because they often cost lives.
“When a lawyer loses a case, there is an appeal. When there is engineering failure, there is no appeal. Life is lost,” he said.
The minister also proposed making COREN the central regulatory authority for engineering practice, similar to the Nigerian Bar Association’s role in the legal profession.
He disclosed that the ministry had begun recalling engineers who failed to properly supervise projects and would subject them to retraining before redeployment.
“When you cannot defend the assignment given to you on site, we will bring you back to the office for retraining. This is part of the discipline that brings safety to engineering practice,” he said.
Umahi also defended the Federal Government’s ongoing infrastructure programme, saying more than 40 major projects had been completed while over 400 were under execution nationwide.
Meanwhile, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, described engineering as a key driver of economic prosperity, arguing that countries flourish when engineers are empowered to deliver infrastructure.
“When engineers prosper, the nation prospers,” he said, adding that major road, port and power projects under construction across the country were creating employment opportunities for young engineers.
The assembly with the theme “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and a Tiered Sanction Regime,” brought together engineering professionals, policymakers, industry leaders and regulators to discuss reforms aimed at strengthening engineering practice and safeguarding public infrastructure.
