The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Umuahia Branch, Abia State, has appealed to the government to partner the society in building engineering centres, where engineers will be trained and retrained.
The Society opined that technical designs and construction of key infrastructure should be handed back to the professionals, stating that quacks should be denied the mischief of destroying infrastructure in the country.
Delivery his address at the formal inauguration ceremony as the 10th Branch Chairman of the NSE, Engr. Nnamdi Cyprian Nwasuka lamented that the nation is faced with a horrendous decline in infrastructure and wondered how an effective and sustainable development in Nigeria could be achieved in the light of obvious institutional weaknesses and global economic recession.
He appealed to the Governor of the state, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu to give NSE Umuahia branch suitable land for a well-equipped engineering centre in Umuahia.
In an interview, the Vice President of NSE, Engr Edith Eshidi, lamented how the engineering space has been flooded with untrained individuals.
Abia NEWMAP (Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project) Coordinator, Engr Izuchukwu Onwughara, blamed the incessant building collapse in Nigeria on structural design, sub standard materials, the use of unprofessionals to man building sites.