By

Engr. Olugbenga Olajubu

B.Eng.(IL); M.Eng. (IL), M.N.S.E; COREN
Reg.C.E.O. Lajub
Nig. Ltd

Civil engineering is a professional engineering

discipline that deals with the design, construction
and maintenance of the physical and naturally built
environment, including works such as bridges, roads,
canals, dams and buildings. Civil engineering is the
oldest
engineering
discipline
after
military
engineering; it was defined to distinguish nonmilitary engineering from military engineering. It is
traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines
including environmental engineering, geotechnical
engineering, structural engineering, transportation
engineering, water resources engineering, materials
engineering, coastal engineering, surveying, and
construction engineering. Civil engineering takes
place at all levels: in the public sector from local
governments through to federal levels, and in the
private sector from individual homeowners through
to corporate organizations.

Engineering has been an aspect of life since the

beginnings of human existence. Civil engineering might be
considered properly commencing between 4000 and 2000
BC in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia when humans
started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a
need for the construction of shelter. During this time,
transportation became increasingly important leading to
the development of the wheel and sailing.
The construction of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500
BC) might be considered the first instances of large
structure constructions. Other ancient historic civil
engineering constructions include the Parthenon by Iktinos
in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by
Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), and the Great Wall of China
by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor
Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC). The Romans developed civil
structures throughout their empire, including especially
aqueducts, harbours, bridges, dams and roads.

Until modern times, there was no clear distinction

between civil engineering and architecture, and
the term engineer and architect were mainly
geographical variations referring to the same
person, often used interchangeably. In the 18th
century, the term civil engineering began to be
used to distinguish it from military engineering.
Civil engineering today deals with bridges, roads,
buildings, railways, airports, seaports, water
supply, irrigation, dams, environmental sewer
flood control, transportation, telecommunications
and traffic to mention a few. In essence, civil
engineering maybe regarded as the profession
that makes the world a more agreeable and
comfortable place to live.

The aim of this lecture is to examine the

challenges in civil engineering construction
practices as it operates in Nigeria. It is
therefore essential to understand what
construction practice means.
Wikipedia
describes construction as a process of building
or assembling of infrastructures like buildings,
roads, airports, and others earlier mentioned.
It involves planning and execution of designs
produced by architects, engineers and other
professionals like quantity surveyors. It is not
a single activity. It is multifaceted. The
knowledge and experience required for each
project vary; it depends on the size, location
and complexity of the project.

Construction practices in a developing country like

Nigeria differ significantly in important aspects from
practices in industrialized or developed countries. Even
in Nigeria, the greatest challenge facing professionals
in the field is that the practice of construction is not
uniform. It varies with the client, size or complexity of
the project from the perspective of the owners. In order
words, construction practice is the process of handling
the whole project from conception to completion.
Construction practice cannot be limited to actual
construction. It involves design, approval and planning
which we refer to as Pre Contract then the physical
construction and maintenance, which we refer to as
Post Contract. For the purpose of this lecture, the
discussion will be limited to construction activities of
the following clients

Private individuals
Corporate organizations
Government (Local, State, Federal)
Universities

These constitute the highest percentage

of clients in Nigeria. The projects handled
under this category are mainly buildings
of various sizes, storm water drainage,
access gates to estates, petrol stations
e.t.c. We also have a vast majority of
small building renovation projects such as
addition of a room or renovation of a
bathroom.

The Local Government Town Planning Authority is

the prescribed authority with jurisdiction over
approval of designs. A private individual contacts
an architect or draughtsman to put up the drawings
and submit for approval. The requirements for
approval of new developments are not stringent for
residential bungalows. For multistory buildings, a
signed structural drawing must be included with
the architectural drawings. Services drawings are
not considered important. Other developments like
petrol stations attract additional requirements, but
there is no uniformity. The omission of these details
put the projects in precarious situations because;
the developer or contractor will have to use his
initiative and experience where detailed drawings
are not available.

In most cases, there is little or no planning. At this stage,

there is the need to consult a quantity surveyor, whose
duty is to calculate the overall cost of the project and
advice the owner on material and labour requirements for
each stage of the project. Most private individuals do not
see the need for this stage. In most cases, these types of
construction works are residential bungalows for personal
use. The owner contracts a bricklayer or carpenter while
he and his family act as labourer, paymaster and design
team for the whole project. The absence of concrete
financial planning is a major challenge to both the
homeowner and contractor. Most times such projects are
not completed in good time; some are abandoned and
sold later to a buyer who does not know the quality of
work done on the project. The cycle continues. In some
cases however for the very literate private house owner, a
professional is brought in on unofficial basis to advice on
specific areas when they run into problems or foresee a
problem.

A variant of these group of individual property

owners who is desirous of embarking on complex
multistory buildings or special projects like hotels,
petrol stations go a little further by inviting a
contractor who most times are non professionals.
The naturally intelligent ones among these
contractors get by and complete the project after
a lot of hassles but at what cost and anxiety

The role of the town planning authority ends with

approval of the development. In most cases, the
inspection unit of the planning authority only checks if
there is an approved drawing. Supervision and quality
control is the responsibility of the homeowner. The
proliferation of non-professionals in the field is
encouraged by private developers. You can hardly
separate an engineer from a pseudo engineer.
The lack of control is responsible for incessant collapse
of buildings and fire outbreaks across the country. The
only improvement in recent times is in Lagos State of
Nigeria where the owner is compelled to name a
qualified engineer who is responsible for the quality of
work done.
The advantage, which the private individuals enjoy in
handling projects without consulting a professional, is
just a personal belief that he has saved money.
However, he gained nothing.

The clients that fall under this category are banks,

insurance companies, multinational manufacturing
companies, oil companies, telecommunication
giants and others too numerous to mention.
Construction practices in corporate organizations
are more organized. The challenges here are not
complex because they have laid down procedures
and standards. These procedures vary for different
organizations. Development of infrastructure in
many organizations is precipitated on the need for
maintenance or expansion, which is conceived and
approved by the relevant authority within the
organization.

Corporate organizations employ the services of

relevant professionals in the design and planning of
their renovations or new developments. Although
they seldom advertise in the dailies for the services
of these consultants. The consultants approach these
organizations for registration in their fields of
specialization. The organizations appraise their
resumes. Sometimes they invite them for interviews.
After the appraisal, if the organization is convinced
that they are competent, they will be registered and
called upon when the need arises. In some cases,
however some organizations invite consultants with
proven record of performance in their area of
specialty. However, it is worthy to note that, most
corporate organisations are interested in quality and
competence of consultants.

Whenever these organizations embark on projects,

a team of consultants or in-house professionals is
assembled, comprising of the architect, structural
engineer, services engineer, quantity surveyor and
any other professional whose expertise is required
in other to achieve the set objectives optimally.
The consultants will set to work within the scope of
their brief and in compliance with peculiar
specifications of the client. The architect and
engineers produce drawings while the quantity
surveyor produces the Bill of Quantities, which
includes the specifications of the clients.

Some very big organizations like oil

companies and banks have these
professionals in the establishment. In cases
like these, for routine projects they do not
employ consultants. Nevertheless, a complete
set of comprehensive and detailed contract
documents is available for consideration of
the organization. Typical contract documents
are
Architectural Drawings
Structural Drawings
Services Drawings
Bill of Quantities (B.O.Q) / Bill of Engineering
Measurement (B.M.E)

At the end of this exercise, the client is in a

position to know the probable cost of the project
as well as the financial commitment required for
each stage. If the design is not within their
budget, it is possible at this stage to prune down
the project, or divide it into phases. Some
organizations even go as far as delaying the
project until adequate funds is available. The
drawings produced are subject to the approval
of the Local Government Town Planning
Authority within which the new development is
located. The major challenge here is that it is
difficult for a new engineering outfit to break
into the system. The older generation of
consultants monopolizes these set of clients.

The procedure for award of contract is similar to

that of commissioning of consultants. The
invitations of contractors here is at the discretion of
the company. They do not place advertisement for
this purpose in the dailies. Contractors invited are
from a data bank of previously registered
contractors or specialists in the area under
consideration. The tenders submitted by the
contractors are analysed by the consultants, while
recommendations are made to the client who
awards the contract to the most suitable contractor
by their standards. The challenges here for
contractors are similar to that of the consultants.
Unless there is an insider who is convinced about
the competence of the incoming contractor, it is
difficult to get patronage from this group of clients.
It is not an all comers affair.

The contractor here is a professional and he

is expected to submit a programme of works
showing the beginning and completion of
each item of work. The process and progress
of work is monitored vigorously by the
consultants or in house professionals. The
materials used are subjected to scrutiny for
compliance with specifications while the
method and skill of construction is
monitored. Concisely construction is
practiced in the way it should be. The details
of this practice will be discussed later.

In this category, we have the three tiers of

government namely, The Local Government,
State Government and Federal Government.
The challenges here are monumental.
Construction practice in these three tiers of
government varies and until very recently
there is no transparency in the system. Each
arm of government operates a convenient
method of design, planning, award and
supervision of construction works in the
three tiers of government. However since
the stability brought by democracy there is a
semblance of order and control.

Each arm of government has departments or ministries

charged with handling new developments or renovations.
At the local government, level there is a Director of
Works who heads the Works Department. This
department is charged with the responsibility of
producing working drawings, bill of quantities or bill of
engineering measurement. They are also charged with
advising the Local Government Chairmen and the
executive on the planning and execution of the
development. It is very rare for a local government to
employ the services of consultants for their projects. The
contract documents are prepared by the works
department where the various professionals required for
efficient delivery of such services are absent or not
employed. These documents are not detailed in most
cases. The quality and standard of the drawings depends
largely on the experience and competence of the
Director of works.

The state ministry of works is responsible for

producing contract documents for the various
states. In some cases, other special ministries like
The Ministry of Water Resources exist in some
states. These ministries still rely on the ministry of
works for inputs into their projects. The procedure
adopted in the past does not follow any pattern.
Sometimes consultants are commissioned to
produce drawings and other contract documents
while in some cases, the professionals in the
ministry produce these drawings and documents on
their own. However, in the last few years, there is
an improvement. Due Process has been
introduced. The new Procurement Act of 2007 has
given the guidelines on design and award of
contracts. Regrettably, not all the states have
complied with this directive.

In this new dispensation, when a project is

conceived, the state government advertises
for interested consultants who are registered
with the state to express their interest. These
consultants submit the relevant documents as
advertised. Their submission will be analyzed
and a team of consultants will be assembled.
The procedure is quite similar to the process
discussed under corporate organizations. The
major difference is that advertisements are
placed in a national newspaper for the state
government contracts while the corporate
bodies do not advertise theirs.

Previously at the federal level, there was no

transparency. Each ministry fashions its
procedure to meet certain political and
personal interest. There is now an
improvement in the system; the procedure for
the Federal Government contracts now follows
the procurement act of 2007 strictly. Unlike
the state government contracts, all contracts
are advertised. Consultants and contractors
are prequalified for each project while detailed
drawings and other tender documents are
produced. Geotechnical investigations are not
taking into consideration always.

At the local government level, there is no

prequalification of contractors. Once the
tender documents are ready, an advert is
placed for contractors who are registered with
the particular local government to pay the
stipulated tender fees. The only document
available in most cases is a Bill of Quantities,
which is priced and submitted within the
stipulated time. The tender analysis and
consideration for award lies primarily with the
director of works and chairman of the local
government. Contract award is not
transparent despite the new procurement act.
It is still subject to political interest and
patronage.

Contract award at the state or federal level is more

tedious. A contractor who is desirous of working for these
two tiers of government must register in a category of its
choice. When the contract documents are ready, an
advert for PREQUALIFICATION OF CONTRACTORS is
placed in at least two (2) national newspapers. However,
as stipulated by law, these adverts must be placed in The
Construction Journal. However, it is only the Federal
government that complies strictly with this directive. Most
state governments limit their adverts to the dailies while
some do not even advertise at all. The requirements for
prequalification are listed, while only prequalified
contractors are invited to pay for tender documents.
At the state level, some other considerations come to play
before a contractor is chosen. However, at the federal
level, the lowest tender received is automatically
considered for award. There are still some sharp practices
in the industry but the situation is improving.

A myriad of problems plague government contracts.

At the state level, the quality of the contract
documents produced reflects very strongly on the
level of planning. These qualities can be adjudged as
just average for some states while it is below
average in most states. The wish of the governor in
most cases takes precedence over all other
considerations however technical. A good number of
contractors also are non-professionals, while the
bureaucracy on the part of government hinders the
smooth running of contracts.
It is important to note at this junction that the major
hindrance to planning on government projects is
funding. It is very unpredictable. If a project is not
included in the budget, it will not go beyond the
design stage and if it is an ongoing project, it will be
abandoned.

At the Federal government level, there is a

deliberate attempt to improve on the
performance at the state level. The quality of
contract documents is higher while the
planning is improving daily. However, the effect
of funding and bureaucracy is still the same.
The quality of supervision is very high when
consultants are employed. However, whenever
the in house professionals are in charge of
supervision, their performance is tainted with
bureaucracy. This impact negatively on the
project.

There are three categories of universities namely, private,

state and federal universities. Construction practice and
its challenges in most state universities compare
favourably with the operations of the owner states; it is
therefore be unnecessary to discuss them here. The
pattern of administration in the private universities varies
considerably. Each private university has its own
peculiarities. Discussing them collectively will not be
appropriate. The emphasis here will be on Federal
Universities.
The federal government is responsible for the new
developments or maintenance of structures on federal
universities. However, other agencies like Education Tax
Fun (ETF), banks and other donors contribute to physical
development. Each university has a governing council
that oversees the affairs of the university on behalf of the
federal government.

Each University has a Physical Lanning Unit (P.P.U) under

the office of the Vice Chancellor. This unit as the name
implies is responsible for the development of new
structures on the campuses. While the works department is
in charge of maintenance of infrastructure
When the university is desirous of embarking on a new
project, the physical planning unit receives directives from
the administration. The unit will liaise with the users /
department who will benefit from the development to take
inventory of their requirements and peculiarities. At this
stage, the university may decide to employ the services of
consultants or use their in house professionals for the
design. There is no uniformity in the operations of the
universities in this regard. The various options adopted are:
Some universities engage the services of consultants most
of the time and sparingly use in house professionals for
their designs
Some university use only in house professionals
Some use combine in house professionals from the physical
planning unit and lecturers from relevant departments of
the university.

The good thing is that the quality of the contract

documents is always very high and detailed in most
universities, but geotechnical investigations are usually not
carried out. Only a handful of them use incomplete
documents. After the completion of the contract
documents, most universities would have an idea of the
range of probable cost of the project before proceeding to
other stages. Planning is easier in the university system
because the academic environment dictates orderliness.
The law establishing them creates procedures for achieving
their objectives. Secondly, most of them have a master
plan. The academic area is distinct from the residential
area. There are further subdivisions to faculties and
administrative areas. This does not mean that the
university system does not have its own challenges. The
peculiarities of the personalities of each administrator have
its own effects on the management of the construction of
infrastructures but the checks and balances of the
university system still makes it more conducive.

Until very recently, the governing council of each university is the

body that awards contracts. The idea of inviting contractors to
tender for projects through advertisement in the dailies was not
common. However, the method used in inviting contractors for
tender and award vary for the different universities. The only thing
they share in common is that any contractor desirous of being
considered must register with the Federal Ministry of Works and the
university in the appropriate category. Some of the methods
employed are
Some universities place adverts on their notice boards within the
physical planning unit and the administrative block. This is common
with the first generation universities
Some universities go for selective tendering procedure. In this case,
the few contractors considered receive letters of invitation to tender.
The tenders collected are submitted to the office of the registrar
after pricing. The consultants will analyze these tenders and submit
their report to the physical planning unit for scrutiny. The reports of
the consultants and the physical planning unit are merely for
technical considerations. The management of each university will
study the reports and forward their decisions to the governing
council.

In some institutions, only contractors that fall within a

range of the consultants estimates are given further
considerations. While some institutions still considers the
tender of all the contractors before a decision is taken.
The tenders board, headed by the Chairman of the
governing council will consider the reports and award the
contract to any contractor of their choice.
In some universities however, the contractors are invited
for further interview and negotiations. Technical issues are
discussed with a view of getting an insight into the
professional competence of each contractor. It is however
difficult to understand the principles that guide their
choice of contractor.
However, the method of planning and award of contract in
the university system has witnessed major changes. A few
years ago, Due process was introduced, and very
recently, the procurement act of 2007 has increased the
transparency in the award of contracts. All federal
universities now operate a uniform method in the
planning and award of contracts.

It is the duty of the physical planning unit to

ensure that all projects are properly managed
with or without consultants. Most universities do
not employ consultants for resident supervision.
Nevertheless, they still give instructions on site
anytime their attention is required. The
university appoints a clerk of works who is
responsible to the director of physical planning.
His duty is to ensure that the contractor adheres
to specifications and carries out the construction
as designed.
The contractor submits a programme of work in
line with his previous completion period during
tendering. The feasibility of the programme is
discussed and amendments are made without
changing the period of construction.

Building construction is the commonest in the

university system. We have occasional estate roads,
dams or other structures. Professionals are in charge
of every aspect of the construction. For a building
project, the architect is the leader of the team while
the structural and service engineers are available for
their inputs. The quantity surveyor carries out a
valuation at the instance of the contractor. An
architects certificate is issued for every valuation and
sent to the physical planning unit for processing.
In cases where fund is available, these certificates are
honoured in reasonable time. The project is completed
and commissioned. However, some universities award
contracts on the projection of expected funds. These
projects run into difficulties because, without funding,
the contracts get abandoned. We have many of such
projects in some universities.

Quality control is very important to the

university system. All materials are inspected
before the contractor uses them. Periodic
test on the strength of concrete (Cube Test)
are carried out. While the specimen of
reinforcement are subjected to tensile
strength test. Other materials for finishing
are inspected and approved. In addition, the
management of contracts in the universities
does not give room for a shoddy execution.
There are periodic site meetings, which
addresses and controls issues relating to
quality of materials and workmanship.

Post contract is the professional terminology

used for all activities carried out when actual
construction work starts. The challenges here
are too numerous and complicated because of
the financial implications and control of
construction personnel. Some of these are
Quality of construction materials
Source of equipments
Availability of qualified and competent
workers
Proliferation of experienced artisans into the
field of engineering
Finance

The assemblage or mixing of different

construction materials is the art of
construction. Therefore, it is very important
that these materials must conform to
specifications. However, it is very sad that
Nigeria is just a dumping ground for various
materials and equipments. There is no
control on the quality of locally produced or
imported materials. This factor affects the
infrastructure negatively on completion.
Primary construction materials, which are
common to all construction projects, are:

Cement is one of the commonest building

materials. Elephant and Dangote cement are
locally manufactured. They dominate the
market, while there are other brands. These
products are good but some unscrupulous
individuals adulterate and re-bag them. This
affects the setting time and overall strength
of concrete and mortar. In order to augment
local production, cement is imported.
Experience has shown that the strength
these brands of cement are not uniform. The
initial setting time vary considerably.

This is a major challenge because it is not possible to

know the manufacturers at the point of purchase. The
size and quality is a joint problem. Common sizes in the
industry are 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 25mm. However, these
are sizes in name only. 10mm rods has many varieties
namely, 9mm, 9.5mm or full 10mm. 12mm has 11mm,
11.5mm and full 12mm. There are at least two or three
varieties of each size. There is further subdivision of
local and imported reinforcement, which cannot be
verified.
Occasionally when samples of reinforcement were
taken to the laboratory for testing. The tensile
strengths were found to be lower than design strength.
Availability and cost are the major problem for
structural steel members. Structural engineering
consultants are constrained by the limited size and
type of members available in the market.

There are two types of aggregates; coarse

aggregates refer to granite chippings or gravel.
While fine aggregate is supposed to be river sand.
Granite chippings are manufactured mechanically
and locally, it should be free from dust, loam, silt,
clay and other impurities. The source of worry
here is mainly availability, we have occasional
bad chippings, but it is easy to detect. However,
fine aggregate to be used for mortar and concrete
shall be clean, sharp natural pit or river sand.
River sand is very scarce. In upland states, river
dredging is uncommon. What is referred to as
river sand does not meet all the qualities of the
sand specified for construction works.

Other materials used for construction are,

aluminum roofing sheets, doors, mortise
locks, electrical cables and fittings, sanitary
wares, asphalt, paints e.t.c. We have
various manufactures for these materials,
but the quality of their products differs
significantly. Most of them are substandard
because the country does not have an
efficient regulatory body to enforce
compliance with international standards.
The professional in the construction
industry is at the receiving end.

The big multinational companies do not seem to have any

problem in this regard. However, the bulk of other indigenous
contracting companies who do not need major equipments
like bulldozers, vibrating rollers, excavators for more than a
few days at a time face hardship in locating equipments in
good working condition. It is extremely difficult even if you
have the money to pay. Basic equipments like concrete
mixers, concrete vibrators, survey equipments, small lifting
devices, cranes, vibrating rollers, pavers and other
equipments are common to all contracting firms. Availability
of spare parts and high cost of maintenance is the only major
challenge.
In addition to the above, Indigenous contracting companies
are not benefiting from latest developments that have taken
place on equipments worldwide. In developed countries,
equipment-leasing companies complement these
disadvantages in the construction industry. But leasing outfits
are not common in the country. The fact that we are still
placing concrete manually on multi storey buildings is not
good enough. Concrete pumps and small lifting devices
should be available at affordable prices.

These are two major problems in the construction

industry. Fluctuations are caused by increased in
the cost of materials while variations occur when a
contractor carries out additional works, which are
not included in the BOQ.
The price of materials fluctuates without notice or
reason. This becomes a major problem for the
contractor because most clients insist on nonfluctuating contracts despite the fact that we are
all aware that prices fluctuate. The time lag
between tendering and award of contract is not
fixed. It is very common for the prices of materials
to have fluctuated even before the project
commences. The financial losses incurred by
contracting firms in this regard are a major source
of concern.

Corporate clients as earlier discussed pay

fluctuations and variations claims. It is
extremely difficult but not impossible for a
contractor to claim for fluctuation on state
government and federal government
contracts. In the university system, variation
claims are paid, if it is properly handled and
approved by the consultants. However,
fluctuation claims are not entertained at all.
The combined effects of fluctuations and
variations in the construction industry can
be severe and detrimental to the overall
completion of projects.

The inadequacy of competent work force is another

major challenge in the industry. The quality of recent
graduates is declining. Training facilities are running
short while incessant strikes in our education system
leads to poor education. It is so bad that you cannot
trust a trainee engineer on a simple task. This factor
indirectly encouraged the proliferation of
experienced artisans who pose as engineers to
unsuspecting clients and employers. The problem
caused by incompetent workforce is that expected
basic engineering knowhow is lacking.
For instance, an engineer on a road project is
expected to know that asphalt laid below the given
temperature will quicken deterioration of the road
surface. He is also expected to identify bad laterite
for earthworks even before laboratory tests.

Likewise, on a building project, an engineer should acquaint

himself with the use of basic tools like tape, builders
plums, squares, bricklayers range and a host of others. He
is also expected to know the setting time of concrete and
workability for various uses; he should be conversant with
lap lengths suitable for the various sizes of reinforcement.
An average engineer on any project is therefore expected
to have a reasonable understanding of the various
components: electrical and mechanical works. The
incompetence of the site engineer or supervising consultant
affects their employers negatively and the client generally
on the successful completion of the project.
The training of artisans has also dropped. Apprentice
artisans are not available. This has led to insufficient
artisans in all categories. While the volume of work
available is increasing daily, the numbers of artisans are
decreasing.

The aim of any individual pursuing a carrier in civil

engineering is to be able to generate enough money
to live comfortably. The financial difficulties in the
industry are so staggering that achieving the
objective is a mirage.
Bureaucracy by civil servants leads to delay in
payment to both the contractors and the consultants.
This is common to all tiers of government and
university. Only corporate organisations pay for
services rendered as and when due. Inadequate
budgeting for ongoing projects is another mitigating
factor. To compound these problems, banks are not
willing to fund contractors because of bad loans.
The combined effect of all these factors on the
industry creates a crippling effect. This accounts for a
high percentage of abandoned projects.

In summary, the challenges facing the civil

engineering construction in Nigeria are many
ranging from: (a) modalities of achieving
contracting documents, (b) poor planning, (c)
lack of transparency in the award of
contracts (d) the presence of unqualified
individuals posing as professionals in the
industry, (e) inadequacy of finance (f)
declining competence of trained
professionals and artisans.

However, these challenges can be alleviated:

Implementing the procurement act of year
2007 at all levels of government and agencies
involved in infrastructural development
Improve budgeting and implementation
Reduction of bureaucracy in the planning and
implementation of new developments
Adopting the points and suggestions raised in
the communiqu issued at the end of the
2009 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian
Institution of Civil Engineers in Abuja which
was published in The Punch Newspaper of
17th November, 2009. Some of these include;

*Improving and domesticating all codes and

standards of civil engineering with a need for
National civil engineering codes of practice.
*Organisations responsible for infrastructural
development should imbibe the culture of
training and retraining their personnel.
*Government should make geotechnical
investigations mandatory for all civil
engineering projects because it is a major
parameter in the failure of engineering
investigations.

Thank you for listening