Establishing a Central Regulatory Body to Sanitize the Construction Market

Strategic Insights -

The President of the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), Obafemi Onashile, has emphasized the need for a central regulatory body to address the challenges in the construction market. Speaking at the 2025 Annual Quantity Surveyors Assembly, Onashile proposed the establishment of the Building and Engineering Commission (BEC) to curb the activities of quacks and unwholesome practices in the sector. The proposed commission would be responsible for regulating the market and ensuring that only qualified professionals are involved in construction projects.

Key Takeaways:

  • Obafemi Onashile, President of QSRBN, has called for the establishment of a central regulatory body to be known as the Building and Engineering Commission (BEC) to sanitize the construction market.
  • The proposed commission would have nominees from existing regulatory bodies in the sector, as well as from the Federal Minister of Housing and Urban Development and Minister of Works.
  • Onashile emphasized the need to regulate the market, including controlling the activities of quacks, and to establish a building code that can be enforced.
  • The BEC would be responsible for regulating the construction market and ensuring that only qualified professionals are involved in construction projects.
  • The establishment of the BEC is seen as a way to save the sector from further unwholesome practices and to address the current challenges faced by the industry.
  • The Minister of Housing and Urban Development has assured of the federal government's resolve to engage with stakeholders to design and implement policy reforms that foster transparency, professionalism, and accountability.

Statistics:

  • The construction market in Nigeria is currently open, with "all sorts of quacks" involved in various aspects of the industry.
  • The building code in Nigeria is in need of editing, with many challenges to its implementation.
  • The Federal Minister of Housing and Urban Development has announced several ongoing projects worth billions of naira to address Nigeria's housing deficit and modernize the urban spaces.

Sources:

  • President of the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), Obafemi Onashile
  • Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa
  • Quantity Surveyors Assembly and Induction of Newly Registered Members, 2025
  • Pemi Temitope, Representative of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development
  • "Quacks in the market, doing all other duties"
  • "Renewed Hope Cities and Estates, Slum Upgrade Intervention and other public private partnership projects"