President Bola Tinubu has endorsed plans by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to introduce a stronger sanctions regime for quack engineers and professionals found guilty of misconduct, saying robust regulation backed by fair enforcement is essential to safeguarding lives and critical infrastructure.
Represented by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, at the opening of the 34th COREN Engineering Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday, the President said Nigeria’s rapid infrastructure drive must be supported by an effective regulatory framework capable of holding practitioners accountable while protecting the integrity of the engineering profession.
“Engineering without regulation is risky. Regulation without enforcement is weak. Enforcement without sanction is ineffective. Sanctions without fairness are unjust. Therefore, what Nigeria needs is a balanced system—strong regulation, fair enforcement and proportionate sanctions,” Tinubu said.
The assembly, themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and a Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” brought together engineers, regulators, policymakers and industry leaders to discuss ways of strengthening engineering governance and improving public safety.
Tinubu said engineering failures often lead to avoidable deaths, destruction of public assets, wasted investments and loss of public confidence, stressing that safety must remain the overriding consideration in engineering practice.
He described COREN as more than a professional registration body, noting that it is a statutory institution charged with protecting the public through effective regulation of engineering practice.
According to him, Nigeria must move away from reactive regulation towards a preventive, data-driven and transparent system capable of preventing failures before they occur.
“Regulation should not be seen as punishment. Regulation is protection. It protects the public from incompetence. It protects clients from poor delivery. It protects government from waste. It protects good engineers from being undercut by quacks. It protects investors from failed infrastructure. Most importantly, it protects lives,” he said.
The President added that competence and integrity must guide every phase of infrastructure development—from planning and design to procurement, material testing, construction, supervision and maintenance.
He also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering durable infrastructure, revealing that ongoing federal highway projects are now being designed with life spans of between 50 and 100 years.
“This is a complete departure from previous practices where many roads did not last up to five years,” Tinubu said, adding that the Federal Government would ensure ongoing infrastructure projects are completed on schedule without compromising engineering standards.
Earlier, COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, said the Assembly’s theme reflects the Council’s constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property through effective regulation of engineering practice.
“As regulators, we recognize that engineering failures often have devastating consequences. Therefore, engineering regulation must not only ensure competence and professionalism but must also provide robust mechanisms for compliance monitoring, enforcement, accountability and sanctions where necessary,” he said.
Abubakar outlined several reforms implemented by the Council over the past year, including improvements in engineering education, enhanced regulatory oversight, digitalisation of licensing and verification processes, strengthened enforcement operations, expanded professional development programmes and greater international engagement.
He disclosed that COREN secured the endorsement of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and approval from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to enforce admission quotas for engineering programmes in universities as part of efforts to improve the quality of engineering education.
He also announced the reintroduction of the mandatory engineering residency programme for graduates before participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), alongside intensified monitoring of engineering projects nationwide, the establishment of state technical committees and expatriate monitoring committees, and specialised training for engineering forensic investigators.
According to him, the Council has also developed safety guidelines for Nigeria’s construction industry, prepared engineering standards for roads and bridges and advanced the country’s bid for international accreditation under the Washington Accord, the global benchmark for engineering education.
Despite the progress, Abubakar identified persistent quackery, weak enforcement of engineering standards, inadequate compliance by project owners, funding constraints, delayed prosecution of professional misconduct cases and poor maintenance culture as major obstacles confronting the profession.
He called for a more proactive regulatory system anchored on risk-based inspections, technology-driven monitoring, transparent enforcement, ethical practice and stronger collaboration between government, regulators and industry players.
“The future of engineering regulation lies not only in detecting failures but in preventing them,” he said.
Also speaking, COREN Registrar, Prof. Uche Okorie, described public safety as the ultimate measure of engineering success, stressing that every road, bridge, building, pipeline, power installation and industrial facility must be designed and supervised with the protection of lives, property and the environment as the foremost priority.
He highlighted reforms introduced by the Council, including engineering admission quotas, graduate indexing, mandatory engineering residency before NYSC, nationwide compliance inspections, expanded digital regulatory services, continuous professional development requirements and specialised training for engineering investigators.
According to him, COREN has also established state technical committees, expatriate monitoring committees and strengthened enforcement mechanisms to improve regulatory compliance across the country.
APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, described engineers as indispensable to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
“When engineers prosper, the nation prospers,” he said, noting that sustainable infrastructure development remains central to national growth and competitiveness.
Representing President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, the company’s Chief Economist, Dr. Hassan Mahmud, said engineering excellence should be regarded as a strategic economic priority rather than merely a professional aspiration.
Delivering Dangote’s remarks, Mahmud argued that effective engineering regulation reduces investment risks while improving the quality, durability and reliability of infrastructure.
Drawing from the experience of constructing the Dangote Refinery, he said safety-driven engineering decisions often increased project costs but ultimately protected lives and guaranteed long-term sustainability.
He urged COREN to adopt a sanctions framework that clearly distinguishes between administrative lapses, professional negligence and gross misconduct, while ensuring penalties remain transparent, proportionate and consistently enforced.
“There should be zero tolerance for repeated offenders whose actions endanger lives and compromise national infrastructure,” he said.
Mahmud further warned that many engineering failures are rooted in weak procurement systems, political interference, disregard for professional advice and poor maintenance culture, arguing that lasting reform must address these institutional weaknesses alongside disciplining erring practitioners.
The 34th COREN Engineering Assembly is expected to produce recommendations aimed at strengthening engineering regulation, improving enforcement and restoring public confidence in Nigeria’s infrastructure as the country pursues ambitious development goals.