By Aliyu DANLADI
The House of Representatives Committee on Works has urged the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to double its drive for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The committee said this was necessary in order for the council to attain financial independence from government, as well as make remittances.
The committee made the call on Thursday at the council’s headquarters in Abuja during an oversight visit to assess the level of implementation of the council’s 2017 and 2018 appropriations.
The Rep. Toby Okechukwu (PDP-Enugu) led committee also challenged the council’s management to galvanize professional efforts aimed at facilitating the signing into law of the council’s establishment Act Amendment Bill recently passed by the National Assembly.
Okechukwu told the council that the committee’s visit was in line with its constitutional responsibility of ensuring that COREN “is fit for purpose” with regard to its utilisation of appropriated funds.
The lawmaker disclosed that the council’s Amendment Bill passed by the House had been concurred by the Senate.
He said that the amendment if signed into law would ensure adequate autonomy and financial independence for the council.
He said the law would also enable the council to expand its nets toward regulating activities of both local and expatriate engineers and workmen coming into Nigeria.
“The relevance and importance of engineering is all-encompassing given the fact that almost everything we use to aid life is engineered.
“You build a house, it’s all about engineering, ranging from the structure to the electrical and water connection all require engineering inputs. Likewise cars that we drive and the road on which we drive are all products of engineering.
“So, whichever way you look , engineering is one of the most important part of social and economic development by virtue of its creations.
“And I am very optimistic that the amendment Bill which has received concurrence from the Senate, if signed by the President will give more power and reach to the council in terms of its work and revenue generating capacity,“he said.
The Registrar of COREN, Mr Kamila Maliki, commended the committee for standing by the council in its efforts to achieve the amendment.
Maliki informed the lawmakers that the council had desired to advance its regulatory roles with a view to attaining the membership of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA).
He described the IEA as the “global elite club” of about 34 countries including the United States.
“The council was invited to the Alliance office in the US for talks and a proposal to visit COREN in Nigeria to see how we operate,’’ he said.
The registrar who briefed the committee on the council’s budget performance for 2018, told the lawmakers that out of N648.5 million approved for it, only N190.2 million had been released as at September.
He disclosed that the council which generated N722.2million was in deficit of over N2 million having exhausted its IGR on recurrent and overhead in the last one year, having remitted the sum of N30 million to government coffers.
The registrar’s statement alarmed the committee members with the chairman querying the council for “living above its means”.
“The deficit status of the council after making N30 million remittance is a cause for concern. You ought to know how much you earn and how much is overhead cost before arriving at the percentage you can remit.
“And you also need to be clear if the percentage is as stated by law or based on guidelines, because I am not comfortable with a man who lives above his means,’’he said.
Also, Rep. Sunday Karimi (PDP-Kogi) told the registrar to remove the idea from his mind that COREN was not a revenue generating body.
Karimi said that the body must set higher targets so that it could generate enough funds to run its operations and also remit to government.
