Cross River
State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade has offered automatic employment to all
graduates of civil engineering from the state, irrespective of their year of
graduation.
The governor
made the pronouncement while receiving the National Chairman, Institution of
Civil Engineers, Engr. Andem Ekpo-Bassey alongside members of the organizing
committee of the 16th Annual General Meeting of the association.
Ayade
further directed the affected persons to immediately submit their curriculum
vitae (CV) at the Civil Service Commission, New Secretariat for schedule of
interview.
Governor
Ayade who was also inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the institution by the
National Chairman, lamented the ill treatments members of the institution have
received in Nigeria.
He noted
that civil engineering plays a very cardinal role in the progress of mankind
and as such, must be treated with dignity and given the opportunity to
contribute their quarters to the development of the nation.
He said, “I
like to challenge you to the fact that today, for us who hold political offices
and have instrumentality of awards of contracts, the Nigerian government and
Nigerian governors have been a bit unfair to the Nigerian Institution of Civil
Engineers because traditionally that is the umbrella beacon of engineering
practices in Nigeria.”
Consequently,
he offered “automatic employment to every civil engineer of Cross River State
origin because we would need thousands of you to be engaged in the construction
of the 275 kilometers superhighway and Bakassi Deep Seaport projects.”
Continuing,
he said: “I have done so, conscious of the financial implication on my
shoulders but I am also aware that this is the right way of encouraging young
Cross Riverians who have made a choice of such a very difficult discipline to
study.
“It is true
that if you look at the academic pursuits of our state indigenes, there are
mostly from humanities. So, for the few of them who have dared to do
engineering and civil in particular we must encourage them.”
While stressing
the importance of civil engineers in any society, the governor said, “the world
is going towards the fourth generation of industrial revolution and Africa is
still lagging behind. There is no growth, no development, no civilization
without infrastructure, and there is no infrastructure without civil
engineering which is why you are very critical in any nation that aspires to
grow.
“Civil
engineers are the heartbeat of development. Africa is looked upon as a black
continent not for lack of power but for lack of infrastructure, power is only
one aspect. For all major project whether awarded to expatriate firms or local
firms, it’s the responsibility of this institution to supervise and ensure
there is also skill and knowledge transfer during the course of executing such
projects.”
The governor
maintained that, “It is the responsibility of your institution to ensure that
ten years down the line we would not want to see any expatriates doing any job
unless as a subcontractor under the Nigerian institution of Civil Engineers. It
is the responsibility of this institution to ensure that only professionally
qualified and competent engineers do engineering work.”
According to
him, “The collapse of buildings, bridges, and the collapse of life occasioned
by poor infrastructural construction and designs including concept has bedeviled
this country for too long.”
Ayade
promised to partner the institution where necessary, explaining that, “Let me
be the first governor in Nigeria to officially recognize the institution by
providing a space in the quality control unit of our entire projects.
Therefore, if partnership with my Ministry of Works where two of your senior
engineers, my Commissioner for works and Director of Civil are your colleague,
they would be working with you to draw up a programme were you would find
applicability and process of commencing the major construction works in the
state.”
While
calling on the body to sponsor a bill that will entrench professionalism and
check quackery in its practice, Ayade revealed that, “There is no provision in
my constitution in my architecture of governance that proscribes your
accreditation of any contract or any contractor I intend to use.
You must
push for legislation through the National Assembly that brings you to the table
where issues of civil engineering and infrastructure are concerned.”
The governor
further assured them that, “I am one of those who stand by you and would stand
very strongly, especially coming from the background of a senator who has been
there and has passed the the highest number of bills in the Nigerian senate,
coming from that background to become governor today I’m in a position to
provide the needed support to ensure that you become recognized in the
constitution.”
He reminded
them that, “It is your mandate and core responsibility all over the world that
if you don’t have the certification with a seal you cannot practice. If you
cannot practice, even being able to award a contract to poor contractors just
because he has equipments, you must cross check for quackery, because equipment
means nothing unless there is a civil brain to drive the process of those
equipments.”
Ayade who
thanked the National Chairman for attracting the AGM to the state for the first
time as well as the body for the honour done him, described Nigeria Institution
of Civil Engineers as a highly reputable institution that has the requisite
capacity to transform the landscape of the country.
He added
that his induction into the institution will spur him to continue to dream
bigger infrastructural projects that will place the state and Nigeria at large
on the path of prosperity.
Earlier, the
Chairman AGM planning committee of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers,
Engr. Godwin Akeke, disclosed that the AGM was coming to Calabar for the first
time which also coincided with the fact that it’s the first time Cross River
State had produced a National Chairman in the person of Chief Engr. Andem Ekpo
Bassey.
He has
graciously attracted the conference to be hosted in the state for the first
time, 30 years after the existence of the institution.
Justifying
the host right further the chairman noted that “Cross River State is the state
with the most ambitious infrastructural projects, therefore we are not
surprised that this conference is coming up here coupled with the fact that our
international colleagues have also sent in their commendation to His Excellency’s
visionary projects like the deep seaport and the 275 kilometers superhighway
and pledged their total support to the success of the administration.
Also
speaking, the National Chairman, Chief Andem Ekpo Bassey who performed the
induction on Governor Ayade as Honorary Fellow, of the Institution of Civil
Engineers of Nigeria in recognition of his outstanding leadership style and
massive infrastructural development that will employ many engineers, thanked
the state for being a good host to the institution and promised to partner the
state whenever they are called upon to offer their professional advice.
Comments