BY AKUDORO GLORIA

The Ministry of Power and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) have expanded efforts to deepen collaboration, to strengthen Nigeria’s power sector.

This critical decision was reached when the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, received the executives of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) led by its President, Engr. Margret Aina Oguntala, in Abuja.

During the meeting, which centered on strategic partnership and mentorship, the Minister challenged NSE on providing technical advisory support towards ensuring the efficiency of critical power infrastructure.

Adelabu noted that, considering the number of engineers that the country has produced, Nigeria ought to have moved beyond the engineering-related problems facing the nation, especially in the power sector.

“Let me thank you and your executive members for your visit to me and to the Power Ministry .There is no way to separate the Power Ministry from the NSE because most of our works here are engineering -related, so there is a natural relationship between us. But the issue is that, has this relationship crystallised to mutual benefits? Has the ministry benefitted from the competence of the NSE members to impact the power infrastructure in the country in the supply of a stable, functional, and reliable power?.

“I want to challenge the body to let your activities impact on the efficiency of the critical infrastructure of the ministry. In this, you must be seen to have lived up to your responsibility. We have so many engineers in Nigeria, yet our power infrastructure is still like this. NSE was established in 1958, that is about 67 years ago and yet we are still having grid collapse, so what are our engineers doing? Should it be like this? The answer is definitely, no,” the Minister stated.

Adelabu, while reviewing the activities of the Federal Government since the present administration took over, revealed that It took Nigeria nearly 40 years to increase from 2000 megawatts in 1984 to 4000 megawatts in 2022.

“In 1984, the country generated 2000mw of electrify and this was not increased to 4000mw untill about 40 years later around 2022 or so. We are about two years now, but we have been able to increase it to 6000 megawatts and this can be attributed to the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the realisation of the importance of the sector as a major factor to galvanize the economy”, he noted.

He continued: “It is a slight on us if we cannot address these challenges, so I’m calling on your society to let us work together in addressing Nigeria’s problems, using your expertise. The ministry, does not give jobs out without such a company being a member of your society. We are not like any other ministry or government agency, the power sector is unique. So on our part, we are fulfilling our obligations to you but you have not reciprocated this to us.
Adelabu also emphasized the importance of manpower development, training and enjoined the NSE to take it seriously.

“I also want the NSE to take the issue of training very seriously. The profession needs constant training and retraining. We have a very vibrant training institute, the National Power Training Institute (NAPTIN) that you can partner with in this aspect of training. It is unfortunate that the issue of training has been relegated to the background. The last crop of our engineers that were trained were those from the old National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). We must go back to that era of rigorous training of our engineers.”

He urged the Body to collaborate with the Federal Government on manpower development and local capacity building.

“We must be able to produce all the materials we need in our power sector locally. This will promote employment, patronage for our local industries and companies and help us to conserve our foreign exchange. You must also provide mentorship for the young ones coming behind you so that they can look up to you in the profession.

In her remarks, the NSE President, Engr. Oguntala, promised that the Body would take up the challenges by the Minister and assured of NSE’s commitment to contributing technical expertise toward improving Nigeria’s power sector, fostering innovation, and enhancing capacity development within the industry.