Umahi Seeks Govt Funding for Engineering Council

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has disclosed that he has written to be delivered to the appropriate quarters a request that the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) be reconsidered for government funding.

Umahi disclosed this while playing host to a visiting joint delegation of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) led by the NSE President, Margaret Oguntala and COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar.

The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Yakubu Kofarmata, said the decision to remove COREN and other agencies from government budget was a decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

In her remark on behalf of the delegation earlier, the NSE president,  Oguntala, stressed that the exclusion of COREN from the budget would make it difficult for the council to perform its critical role in the system, urging a review of the decision by the government.

The federal government had earlier announced the exclusion of 26 professional bodies and councils of agencies from its 2024 budget.