The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria has called for an improvement in the regulation and monitoring of construction works and the provision of services in the country.

The president of the association, Mr Akinloye Oyegbola, who made the call while speaking with journalists during a visit to the site of the collapsed high-rise in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, said such monitoring would help to avert a recurrence.

He blamed government’s inability to deal with the spate of building collapse on the method of execution of the stipulated control or monitoring in the built industry and the state in general.

He, therefore, urged the governments at all levels to carry out a complete review of the control mechanism.

Oyegbola also decried the delay in the approval of building plans for construction in the state, saying it discourages developers.

“How would one explain a situation where it takes upwards of three years to get a building plan approval for construction? Does one need a soothsayer to know that it is just a matter of time before the products of the different aspects of the engendered corruption will manifest?

“Maybe the upscale method of generating the Internally Generated Revenue is due for a holistic review. There is a need to establish an appreciable level of parity between the generated revenue and the quality of service rendered to the public. The building plan approval issue is an example of a possible lack of commensurate quality of service to the revenue generated,” he said.

While also calling on the governments at all levels to make use of Nigerian professionals, Oyegbola said, “The professionals of a country constitute its vehicle for development and the level of government patronage determines the rate of development.

“The developed countries of our time challenged their respective professional bodies on the provision of both intangible and tangible infrastructure to attain their present socio-economic state. On behalf of APBN, I am affirming that we will continue to update and upgrade our competencies in preparation for that much-needed quantum leap in challenges from the three tiers of government for the sustainable development of our nation.”