By Kingsley Adegboye

The Nigerian Institute of Building NIOB, has reiterated its call for the review of the Public Procurement Act (2007) to include an elaborate provision for construction project tender durations validity.

Besides, the builders also want  the government to make it mandatory for construction  projects to have health and safety plan, as well as project quality management plan to form part of contract document requirements in line with the National Building Code.

These recommendations were contained in a communiqué issued by the builders at the end their 42nd National Conference/Annual General Meeting  in Enugu. The theme of the AGM was “Transformational Agenda and Building Production Management in Nigeria.”

The builders suggested that the list of involved built environment professionals should be reflected in the tender documents and accordingly verified from their various professional/regulatory bodies.

Participants at the conference enjoined professional builders and building organisations to adopt appropriate construction practices with emphasis on construction methodology, materials development and efficient technology.

They  noted that the transformational agenda of the Federal Government, if properly executed, would not only engender sustainable development of key sectors of the economy, but will also minimise the issue of corruption in the country.

“There cannot be genuine national transformation in the built environment sector without well articulated inputs of builders, who are statutorily responsible for the management of building construction process. As a matter of urgency, we call on the Federal government to establish a Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB, in order to engender sustainable transformation of the Nigerian construction industry.

“Besides, we recommended that there should be appropriate funding of construction researches and research institutes such as Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute NBRRI, to deliver on their mandate. We equally agitate for a training and research fund by pooling contributions from construction organisations in the country to sustain the sector,” the builders posited.

They commended the National Assembly on the progress towards enacting the National Building Code, and called on the three tiers of government to domesticate this  law in their respective areas for states/LGs once it is enacted. They also advised the Federal government to review  the Land Use Act in order to boost housing delivery.