The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mr Mustafa Shehu,?said on Tuesday that the society would work with organisations willing to help curb?cases of building collapse?in the country.
Shehu made the pledge?in Abuja when members of the NSE?visited?the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of?Building and Road Research Institute (NIBRRI), Prof. Danladi Matawal.
The NSE president commended NIBRRI for its?efforts?in?stemming the tide of building collapse,?pledging?to collaborate with the institute in the execution of projects.
Shehu said?that the NSE would work with NIBRRI to ensure that?recommendations made at a recent?stakeholders' summit were implemented.
“I will like to commend your efforts so far on the job and your innovations, particularly the technical workshop on “curbing the incidences of building collapse in Nigeria.?
“I want to assure you that the NSE will work with you to ensure that?far-reaching recommendations on how to stem the spate of failure of buildings in the country are implemented,” he said.
Shehu also sought partnership with the institute in?research on local building and construction materials,?constructions, foundations and earth works for buildings and bridges.
He listed design and construction of roads?as some of the areas of?partnership, noting that the partnership would?help NSE members?in their day-to-day professional activities.
“There is no doubt that our members will be interested in using your innovative machines when they are commercialised because they are easier to maintain and efficient.
“We look forward to collaborating on this in a manner that would be beneficial to our members and the institute,” he said.
The NSE chief?invited NIBRRI members?to attend and present papers at the national conference of the NSE?holding in Ilorin later in the year.
He noted that members of the society would like to know what their counterparts in NIBRRI were doing and the outcome of various researches by the institute in recent years.
Matawal thanked?the NSE members for the visit, noting that NIBRRI’s young engineers would need the support of the society to build their careers.
He said that on assumption of duties, he set for himself a target to re-organise the institute and position it to carry out useful research in building and road construction.
Matawal? said that the stakeholders’ technical summit on collapse of buildings, brought to the fore, the need for buildings to be supervised by professionals.
He said that the institute would?host a similar summit on collapse of road pavements?next year.
On?researches and innovations made by the institute, Matawal announced that NIBRRI had developed an interlocking block-making machine among others.
He said?the institute had also developed some machinery for use in the construction industry which, if patronised, could help the country to save?funds?on the importation of such machinery.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Matawal later?took the delegation on a facility tour?of NIBRRI's? machines and research laboratories in?the company's Abuja Office. (NAN)