President Bola Tinubu has called for stricter engineering regulation, stronger enforcement and appropriate sanctions to improve public safety and ensure the delivery of quality infrastructure across Nigeria.
The President made the appeal while declaring open the 34th Engineering Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in Abuja. He was represented at the event by the Minister of Works, David Umahi.
Speaking on the theme, “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and a Tiered Sanction Regime,” Tinubu said engineering oversight should move beyond reacting to failures and adopt a preventive, data-driven and enforceable approach focused on protecting lives.
He noted that engineering goes beyond the construction of roads, bridges, buildings and power systems, stressing that it directly affects the safety and well-being of every Nigerian who depends on public infrastructure.
According to the President, engineering failures often result in loss of lives, wasted public resources and declining public confidence, making safety the foundation of professional engineering practice.
Tinubu described COREN as a key institution responsible for regulating engineering activities and safeguarding Nigerians from substandard infrastructure.
He added that regulation should not be viewed as punishment but as a protective measure that shields the public, government, investors and project owners from poor engineering practices.
The President said engineering regulation must cover every stage of infrastructure development, including planning, design, construction, supervision, maintenance and eventual decommissioning.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering long-lasting infrastructure, stating that current road projects are designed to have a lifespan of between 50 and 100 years, unlike many projects in the past that deteriorated within a few years.
Tinubu stressed the need for a balanced system that combines effective regulation, fair enforcement and proportionate sanctions to promote engineering excellence and enhance public safety.
In his address, COREN President, Prof. Zubair Abubakar, said the assembly’s theme reflects the council’s responsibility to protect Nigerians through effective regulation of engineering practice.
He noted that engineering failures can have severe consequences, making compliance monitoring, accountability and enforcement essential across the profession.
Abubakar highlighted recent achievements by COREN, including the introduction of admission quotas for engineering programmes in partnership with the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to improve educational standards.
He also revealed that the council has intensified nationwide inspections of infrastructure projects, strengthened enforcement against unsafe engineering practices, expanded digital registration services and enhanced professional development programmes.
According to him, COREN has also improved engineering standards, expanded international partnerships and introduced intelligence-based and risk-focused regulatory measures aimed at preventing engineering failures before they occur.
Despite these efforts, he identified quackery, weak enforcement, poor compliance with engineering standards, deteriorating infrastructure and rapid technological changes as major challenges facing the profession.
He urged stakeholders to embrace preventive regulation, ethical practices, technology-driven monitoring systems and stronger collaboration to improve engineering governance.
Also speaking at the event, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, represented by the company’s Chief Economist, Prof. Hassan Mahmoud, described engineering as a public trust that plays a vital role in ensuring safety, industrial development and investor confidence.
He said maintaining high engineering standards has become essential as Nigeria works to close its infrastructure gap and strengthen its position as an industrial hub under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Mahmoud noted that effective regulation should focus on identifying and preventing risks before failures occur.
Drawing from the experience of the Dangote Refinery project, he said safety and engineering discipline were prioritised throughout every stage of development, adding that maintaining high standards is far less costly than dealing with the consequences of engineering failures.
He also called for transparent and proportionate sanctions that distinguish between administrative mistakes, professional negligence and deliberate misconduct, while insisting that repeated violations that threaten lives should not be tolerated.
Mahmoud further urged regulators to address deeper institutional issues such as weak procurement processes, political interference and the disregard for professional advice, saying these are among the root causes of engineering failures.
