Federal Ministry of Works and Housing grounds architecture profession in Nigeria

Association of Nigerian Chartered Architects (ANCA) said that its attention has been drawn to the unfortunate press statement by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in The Guardian Newspaper of 23rd May , 2022, page 24, with the sole aim of truncating the activities of the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) which was set up to regulate and control the training and practice of the architecture profession in all its ramification for the benefit of Nigerian architects and students, with the collateral benefits of all Nigerians.

This was contained in a statement signed by  Arc. Monoyosore Omatsone, Arc.‘Koye Jolaoso and Arc. Justus Okah-Avae, the President, National Secretary and Chairman, BOT of the association respectively.

The association stated that; apart from ARCON being the Regulatory Agency of government, there are several other non-governmental agencies (NGOs) similar to the ANCA that are pursuing the cause of architecture and architects in Nigeria. These NGOs are supposed to work with mutual respect with ARCON.

The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, being the Supervising Ministry of architecture profession is supposed to play such supervisory role to ARCON, as well as fatherly role to all related Non-Governmental Organisations in the profession.

According to the statement, the Ministry has directed the cancellation  and postponment of the two major annual events of the Architects namely; the Architects Colloquium (AQ) slated for 23rd to 26th May 2022, and the Architects Professional Competence Evaluation (APCE) programmes slated for July, 2022.

The aforesaid Press Statement seems to have been reproduced verbatim from a legal threat letter to ARCON by the solicitors of one of the related NGOs (namely Nigerian Institute of Architects) dated 13th April, 2022 and issued from the Chambers of Awomolo Associates.

For general information, the Architects Colloquium (AQ), is an annual calendar event of ARCON that has been holding for the past fifteen (15) years; the purpose of which has been to educate, inform; engender interaction, discussion, exchange of ideas; exposure to international speakers, practitioners from all vocations, researchers, educators and students from across the world, while the Architects Professional Competence Evaluation (APCE) programmes are also annual calendar events of ARCON that have been holding for the past five (5) years towards licensure of prospective architects in Nigeria.

“For the information of the general public, these two events are calendar programmes that have already been decided by previous Councils. These events are drawn alongside other activities and captured in the calendar annually or at the start of the life of the Council. They have not been subject to changes since the inception of both programmes.

“The unfortunate scenario is more pathetic when the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) had instructed their members and students not to participate in the Architects Colloquium and not to apply for the licensure programme. This should have been of great concern to the Ministry, if an NGO could undertake to sabotage the activities of its agency.

“This year, which is the only truncated edition of the AQ has attracted the highest number of delegates, exhibitors and participants of over 1500 in which a large percentage thereof constitute the members of ANCA

“The truncated APCE programme for this year, has more than 500 candidates who are our members and are already preparing for the licensure programme,” the statement said.

Having laid the foundation above, here are some details of the Press statement for the information of the public;

1. At No. 7 of the Press Statement, the Ministry spelt out the quorum of the ARCON Council as it is in the ARCON Act without informing the general public that the section of the Act which empowered a private limited company, NIA to be represented on the Council by at least one person before forming a quorum, thereby holding a Government agency hostage, had been set aside by a Court of competent jurisdiction in the interest of public good.
2. At No. 8 of the Press statement, the Ministry introduced a foreign body into the Act with what they tagged “Management Committee”. We have perused the whole Act and could not find any organ of the Council called/named “Management Committee”. The general public should be made aware that by introducing the term “Management Committee”, the intention is to ridicule the work of the Council as specified in the provisions of Section 1(5) of the 1st Schedule to the Act which was copiously quoted in the Press Statement. For the Ministry to assume that the above section does not entitle the ARCON President, Vice President, or Treasurer to assume the full role of the Council is misplaced, especially when they brought in the concept of quorum in interpreting the section.

“In our considered opinion, this assertion is clearly misguided. It is a strange logic and reasoning to read into the context of this clause the following:

“Any Act or things which a statutory body is authorized or required to do shall only be done by a majority of members of such statutory body or a quorum of them.”

“The public should now know why they tagged Section 1(5) of the 1st Schedule to the Act the “Management Committee” in order to introduce the concept of quorum into it.

“By standing logic on its head, they think that they can successfully mislead the public.

“Therefore, it is clear mischief to mislead the public that the so-called “Management Committee” acted ultra vires.

“At No. 4, the Ministry introduced subtle blackmail by threatening its own agency (ARCON) which had been performing their statutory duties, with criminal sanctions without explaining to the public what crimes the agency had committed against the Act.

“Is it appropriate or procedural to query its own agency on the pages of the newspaper and/or social media? For the information of the general public, these are the provisions of the Act relevant to the matter,” it said.

According to the statement, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, the Ministry has glaringly supported the intention of NIA to take over ARCON and install their stooges who would do their biddings and comply with their idea of how architecture in Nigeria should be run irrespective of the provisions and intendments of the Act.

“For the Ministry to approach the public with the broadcasting/declaration, is rather unfortunate.

“The colossal loss to the Architecture family was in the contemplation of the schemers but was contemptuously ignored.

“If NIA wanted the legal interpretation of the Act, the best advice by the Ministry to them would have been to approach the Courts. Their failure to do that means that the Ministry is misinforming the public on behalf of NIA.

“So, the aim of this Press Release is to inform the Architecture Family especially our members who have been deprived, incurred losses and generally damaged and also to inform the general public who the real enemy of the architecture profession is,” the statement said.