From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
A former member of the Board of Trustees of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a three-time presidential aspirant, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has frowned at the award of engineering contracts to foreigners as against their indigenous counterparts.
Speaking during the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in Abuja, Iwuanyanwu, who is a fellow of the society, called on the Federal Government to always use local engineers to develop the state’s infrastructure instead of foreigners who come to Nigeria to take over the jobs of the local engineers.
This, he said, will not only reduce the unemployment rate, it will also sharpen the skills of the engineers.
On the frequent collapse of buildings in Nigeria, Iwuanyanwu said it was due to the climatic change and it has greatly affected the soil structure.
Earlier, the outgoing president of NSE, Babagana Mohammed, said a lot of bills against preferring Nigerian engineers to their foreign counterparts have been sent to the National Assembly.
“NSE set up a powerful lobby group, led by the Chairman of the Engineering Legislation Committee, Chris Okoye, to work towards achieving passage of all pending engineering bills in the National Assembly.
“As we speak, the Road Sector Reform Bills (The National Road Fund and the Federal Road Bill) have been passed and transmitted to the president for his assent.
“NSE has also prepared a memorandum and is awaiting a date for the public hearing on the bill for the amendment of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute Act, for presentation to the Senate,” he said.
According to him, the conference would have been held in Enugu but members voted against the venue because of security concerns.
He, however, explained the conference and AGM was holding in Abuja at the instance of Enugu State government.