Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi
Facility management experts have called for the establishment and enforcement of policies that will entrench the culture of maintaining infrastructure in the country.
They said it had become necessary for facility managers and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors to come together and help to reduce infrastructure decay due to lack of maintenance.
Nigerian chapter of the International Facility Management Association, at its maiden Advocacy Day in Lagos, said the management and maintenance of infrastructure remained a sustainable way of nation building.
The group’s acting President, Mr Segun Adebayo, said IFMA Nigeria planned to collaborate with private and public sectors to improve the maintenance culture in the built environment and change the narrative about facility management in the country.
The Managing Director, Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, Mr Har Yusuph, stated that facility management was of great importance and should be encouraged at all levels.
Yusuph called for a framework for facility management in the country.
He urged IFMA to carry out training and enforcement in all states and local government areas as well as ensure maintenance of facilities using qualified professionals and personnel.
Yusuph said the group should also collaborate with other professional bodies such as the Nigerian Institute of Architects and the Nigerian Society of Engineers and form a forum for registration, training and enlightenment.
“The LSDPC has a lot of estates spread across the state and they are in dire need of facility managers to maintain buildings,” he said.
The Deputy Dean, Faculty of Facility and Environmental Management, University of Lagos, Dr Iqmat Koleosho, said it would be a good idea to have facility managers at the conception stage of a building and within the building team as consultants.
“If that is not achieved, we will continue to have problems with the maintenance of our facilities,” she said.
Koleosho said 90 per cent of maintenance and facility management issues could be resolved at the design stage.
She also said it was important for IFMA to collaborate with the University of Lagos in a way that would enable both to provide vital support for economic growth.
The Chairperson, Planning Committee for the IFMA Advocacy 2019, Ms Iyabo Aboaba, said the group would help to influence government policies and the management of facilities across the country.
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