Professional Civil Engineers under the aegis of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE) have warned Anambra residents against patronage of quack engineers in the execution of engineering projects in the state.
The body laid down the warning during its one-day awareness campaign tagged “Walk Against Building and Infrastructure Collapse,” held in Awka on Saturday.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the road walk was accompanied by placards with various inscriptions such as “Say no to quackery, avoid weak structures, choose quality, prevent collapse, choose engineers, patronise engineers, stop building collapse now,” among others.
Speaking further in an interview with journalists shortly after the campaign, the Awka branch Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE), Engr. Alex Ifeagwazi, said the walk was to educate the public on the importance of hiring the services of professional engineers to avoid building and other infrastructural collapses in the state.
According to him, “We are campaigning for a decent society and good governance. We want the government, civil society organisations, individuals, and other private firms to always patronise certified professional engineers to help eliminate quackery in Anambra State.
“We are appealing to the state-owned radio station, Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), and other media organisations to help publicise against the activities of quackery in the state.
“We are also advocating for a division of labour among professionals in the engineering sector.”
Ifeagwazi called for zero tolerance for quackery, noting that their activities had always been embarrassing. He called for training and retraining of site engineers and other enlightenment programmes as a short-term solution to the problem, just as he also called for a major training intervention for artisans and other labourers to ensure that the right engineering materials are used on site.
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