Persistent Building Collapse: New NATE Ikeja Chair Seeks Govt Partnership to End Bottlenecks

Persistent Building Collapse: New NATE Ikeja Chair Seeks Govt Partnership to End Bottlenecks Worried by persistent building collapse in Lagos, the newly inaugurated Chairman of the Ikeja Chapter of the Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE), Engr. Sam Ekpo, has canvassed stronger government partnership and tech-driven reforms to dismantle bottlenecks in the building approval process. Ekpo said manual procedures, high costs, and opaque file handling, which he described as ‘Egunje’, continue to frustrate compliance, pushing many Nigerians to build without approval and endangering lives. The agenda was unveiled by the Pioneer Chairman, Engr. Sam Ekpo, at the chartering and inauguration ceremony of the chapter held at NECA House, Ikeja, themed ‘Building a Stronger Professional Community Through Unity, Collaboration and Excellence.’ Engr. Ekpo, who received his certificate of service from the National President, Engr. Dominic Udoatan, said his leadership will be driven by directional leadership and not title, with a focus on harnessing the potential of members and mentoring the next generation of technologists. He said for building safety to improve, government and professionals must work together to make compliance easier for Nigerians, calling for tech-driven reforms that will make building approval processes affordable, transparent and accessible online. According to him, when Nigerians struggle to navigate manual processes and high costs for simple developments like a bungalow, compliance becomes a challenge, and he advocated for a system where applicants can pay online and track their applications without bottlenecks. He explained the adoption of technology would help eliminate practices referred to as Egunje, prevent file hiding and ensure that all professionals in the building value chain are properly captured, regulated and remunerated to work according to standard. Engr. Ekpo said the Ikeja Chapter under his leadership will prioritise professional-mindedness over position-seeking, encourage members to affiliate with internationally recognised bodies to boost their career progression, and deepen the use of technology for continuous professional development, meetings and knowledge sharing, despite challenges around data costs. He clarified that chartering means autonomy within one constitution and not division, describing it as division of labour where chapters, state branches, zones and the national body all operate with the same constitution for the growth of NATE. In his remarks, Lagos State Branch Chairman, Engr. Victor Oyedele, described the chartering of Ikeja Chapter as a remarkable milestone in the history of NATE Lagos, urging the new leadership to mobilise members, promote professional development and maintain cordial relationships with the state branch and national leadership to make the chapter a reference point for excellence. The Guest Speaker, Prof. Peter Ekong, Director-General of the Nigerian College of Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Management, said the theme of the event was apt, noting that unity, collaboration and excellence remain critical to building a stronger professional community, adding that technologists are central to nation building as builders of infrastructure, guardians of standards and drivers of transparency.