Meet The New Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers President

The Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE) has pledged to tackle the problem of inferior building materials in the country.

This, among others, was one of the programmes outlined by the new president of NIStructE, Mr. Oreoluwa Fadayomi, who was sworn in last week at the Julius Berger Hall, University of Lagos.

While the President, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mr. Otis Anyaeji was the Special Guest of Honour, Fadayomi’s investiture was chaired by Mr. Yusuf Lanre Sagaya, an engineer.

Wife of the new president, Mrs. Bukky Fadayomi, her husband and president, Nigerian Institute of Structural Engineers, Oreoluwa Fadayomi and the immediate past president of the institution, Dr. S.K. Ilugbekhai during the investiture ceremony of Fadayomi as the 18th president of the structural engineering group in Lagos.

Fadayomi, who has been involved in several structural building and construction works, said to ensure structural stability of any construction project, the responsibility is not only that of the structural engineers but the general public, the institution and the government.

Specifying the roles of the general public, the new president urged it to shun patronizing non-structural engineers in the design and construction supervision of their projects, as water engineer, is different from a structural engineer, even though the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) registers both to practice.

Others are to “Carry out due diligence in choosing the structural design and construction supervision team. Engage a qualified structural engineer who will ensure that the designs are professionally handled and the construction is done to specifications with all the necessary quality control. Pay adequately for services rendered for the both the design and construction supervision and procure materials that are specified for the works.”

From the standpoint of the institution, Fadayomi said it would evolve more collaboration with other professions, monitor especially government projects and report when compliance with Nigerian content and COREN laws are flouted.

In his resolve to fight substandard construction materials, NIStructE president said he would tackle the problem from the roots by ensuring that all major structural engineering materials used for construction are of the right quality.
“Sand varies in quality and when different types are used to manufacture blocks or concrete, the results will vary.  So we shall classify the types of sand available in the different areas and use the data to aid design and quality control.”

According to him, the steel in the market are from different specifications and NIStructE shall engage the steel manufacturers and stockiest in discussions that will lead to their endorsement whose products meet their design specifications, adding, the institution would do this with the cooperation of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).