President Bola Tinubu has called for a stronger engineering regulatory framework to safeguard lives, improve infrastructure quality and restore public confidence in Nigeria’s engineering sector.

Mr Tinubu said this on Tuesday at the opening of the 34th Engineering Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in Abuja.

The president said engineering affects every aspect of citizens’ lives. He was represented by works minister David Umahi. According to him, the quality of roads, bridges, buildings, power systems and other infrastructure determines public safety and economic growth.

He added that engineering regulation should move beyond reacting to failures and instead become preventive, data-driven and firmly enforced.

Mr Tinubu said the theme of the assembly was timely, urgent and central to the future of the nation as it placed public safety at the centre of engineering regulation in Nigeria.

Mr Tinubu described COREN as a critical public safety institution whose responsibility goes beyond maintaining a register of engineers to ensuring that engineering practice protects lives and national assets.

The president said regulation should not be viewed as punitive but as a mechanism for protecting the public from incompetence, safeguarding government investments, promoting professionalism and creating confidence for investors.

He explained that every stage of project delivery—from planning and design to construction, supervision, maintenance and eventual decommissioning—should be guided by competence, integrity and strict compliance with engineering standards.

Mr Tinubu also assured Nigerians that his administration remained committed to delivering durable infrastructure across the country that will last 50 to 100 years and serve Nigerians for generations.

The chairman of the occasion, Aliko Dangote, Dangote Group’s CEO, said that quality engineering would reduce project risks and lifecycle costs while improving investor confidence.

Mr Dangote said countries that attract long-term investment are those with strong engineering standards and effective regulatory institutions. He said that the demand for infrastructure, industrial facilities, water supply, and digital connectivity was expanding at an unprecedented pace, presenting Nigeria with an opportunity to become industrially competitive.

According to Mr Dangote, every naira, every dollar must deliver assets that are safe, resilient, efficient, and capable of serving future generations.

Mr Dangote said that safety should never be compromised for cost savings, noting that effective engineering regulation encourages professionalism, accountability and sustainable development.

(NAN)