General News
FCI Frowns At Rising Costs Of Construction Materials
Federal Government has been advised to urgently address the rising cost of construction materials and delays in the release of funds for infrastructural projects across the country.
The President, Federation of Construction Industry, Chief Vincent Barrah, who gave the advice at a meeting in Abuja, said arbitrary termination and suspension of projects, coupled with poor funding of developmental projects, have led to the loss of over 41,000 jobs in the construction sector.
According to him, the significant depreciation of the naira and increases in the prices of cement, steel, diesel and other production inputs have forced many companies to lay off workers, thereby increasing unemployment and worsening the security situation across the country.
“Situation report from our unions shows that about 1,000 workers in the senior staff category and 40,000 workers in the junior staff category lost their jobs in the last two years, which has had a multiplier effect on their families, market women and the economy at large”.
Chief Barrah stressed the need for relevant agencies to address the country’s infrastructure deficit towards the realisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.
In a remark, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, Dr Smart Adewale, appealed to stakeholders in the construction industry to promote industrial harmony and complement the government’s efforts towards repositioning the nation’s economy.
Dr Adewale also emphasised the need for construction companies to invest in capacity building for their workers, saying this would provide the country with the manpower required to execute projects rather than relying on foreign workers where local expertise is available.
In their separate remarks, union leaders appealed to the Federal Government to always carry the federation along in its policies and programmes to enhance the welfare of Nigerian workers.