NIQS tasks members on best practices

The Deputy President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Kene Nzekwe, has tasked members of the institute on the need to measure up with global best practices and standards for better service delivery.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on the sidelines of a two-day workshop organised by the institute with the theme: “Construction Contracts Claims: Evaluation Presentation and Analysis”, Nzekwe said the institute organised the programme as part of its effort to continuously upskill the capacity of members.

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He said, “Before now, we had carried out a survey among our members on the areas they would want us to upskill their capacity, and this was one of the areas interest was indicated.

“Everything has gone haywire, particularly with what is happening in Russia and Ukraine. Prices all over the world have gone up, including the dollar that we thought won’t depreciate.

“So, that also has a direct impact on the construction industry. And people who are players in the construction industry; the contractors, the clients need to upscale their capacity so that at the end of the day, anyone who suffers damage, can get some kind of compensation when all the issues are put on the table, and that is what this workshop is intended to achieve.”

Bukola Aluko-Olokun, a lawyer and quantity surveyor, said there were different categories of claims which most quantity surveyors were not aware of, noting that, “There are claims within the contract and outside the contract. It depends on where the benefit lies for a party.”

She said the workshop would assist participants to know how to locate clauses within the contract condition “because there are clauses that are very silent. They’re not even aware that they exist.

“A thorough understanding of these contract conditions will enable quantity surveyors to defend a contractor/consultant as appropriate, where it is possible and then be able to use these conditions as a weapon to stand firm within the industry.

“Some of our duties have been taken over by the engineers. We are supposed to administer these contracts. The contracts emanate from our offices, so we should have a thorough understanding of what it actually entails so that we can be able to interpret them when the time arises.”