Nigerian govt vows to tackle inflation of project costs in construction sector.

Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola,
SAN (2nd right),Zonal Director North -West,
Engr.Busari Olalekan (2nd left), Federal Controller of Works, Kaduna,
Engr. Saad Tukur (left), Director Highways,
Construction and Rehabilitation, Engr. Femi Oguntominiyi, (right)
and others during the Minister's inspection tour
of the ongoing Emergency Repairs of Kaduna -
Abuja Expressway, Kaduna on Friday 10th, February 2017.

The Nigerian government says it is worried over inflation of project costs for pecuniary gains in the construction sector.

Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s Minister of Power , Works and Housing, stated this at the 2017 National Project Cost Reduction Summit organised by the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria.

The event, which held in Abuja, was themed, ‘Fighting corruption through proper project costing in Nigeria ’.

Mr. Fashola noted that corruption, as exemplified by inflation of project cost, impedes the nation’s development plan.

He, however, added that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to stamp out corruption in the sector.

The former Lagos State governor, who was represented by the Head of Department, Public Building in the ministry, Sani Gidado, noted that inflation of project costs was a menace that must be tackled if the nation was to achieve infrastructural development.

The minister described the construction sector as one of the most important in any economy, largely due to its profound effects on other sectors and the overall economy.

“One of the root causes of high costs of projects in this sector is corruption in the deliberate inflation of project costs to satisfy pecuniary interests,” Mr. Fashola said.



By Oladeinde Olawoyin.
Full story at Premium Times.