The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, on Thursday, disclosed that he had written officially to the appropriate quarters for the reconsideration of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for the funding by the Federal Government.
Recall that the federal government had earlier announced the exclusion of 26 professional bodies and councils of agencies from its 2024 budget.
Umahi disclosed this while playing host to a delegation of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, led by their Presidents, Engr Margaret Aina Oguntala, and Prof. Sadiq Zubair Abubakar respectively.
The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Yakubu Adam Kofarmata, said the decision to remove COREN and other agencies from the government budget was taken by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
He told the delegation that a letter was written from the office of the minister a day before they visited the appropriate quarters, requesting that COREN and perhaps a few other very critical agencies be reconsidered for government funding.
He assured them that the ministry was ready to give them all the support they may need.
“This ministry will collaborate with you and give you all the necessary assistance required in our collective effort to move the nation forward,” he said.
In her remark the NSE President, Engr Margret Oguntala, stressed the fact that the exclusion of COREN from the budget would make it difficult for the council to perform its critical role in the system, urging a review of the decision by the government.
Congratulating the minister on his appointment, she thanked President Bola Tinubu for appointing a professional in the person of Engr Umahi to man the right ministry.
