Surveyors Protest Exclusion From Implementation Of Procurement Act

The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) has condemned the non-inclusion of its members in the council overseeing the implementation of the Procurement Act 2007.

The NIQS President, Mr Francis Adetola, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the exclusion would not allow for proper utilisation of the funds set aside for capital projects.

“Without the inclusion of those responsible for managing cost and value of projects, its implementation will be a mess at the end of the day,” he said.

He said that the side effects of the non-involvement of quantity surveyors in the implementation of due process was what gave rise to the ongoing probe of some capital projects by the Senate and the House of Representatives..

“This is happening because the same due process that was supposed to be entrenched in those contracts was not followed,” he said.

Adetola said that quantity surveyors initiated the due process as well as planned and submitted a memorandum to back its adoption and wondered why the professionals that initiated the process were not carried along in its implementation.

He also faulted the non-inclusion of his members in the board of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), saying: “this leaves much to be desire.”

“If government is honest, it should follow the same way things are done in all parts of the world and ensure that those that will make the Act effective be given a chance to do so,” he said.