By Abubakar Yunusa
The Nigerian Society of Engineers has urged women engineers to take the lead in designing Nigeria’s future energy systems and infrastructure, warning that the country cannot afford to remain passive as climate and technological changes reshape development.
The President of the NSE, Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu, gave the charge at the 2026 opening ceremony of the International Conference organised by the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria in Abuja.
Rabiu, who was represented by Engr. Dr Patricia Nekpen Opene-Odili, FNSE, said Nigeria needed the creativity, expertise and leadership of women engineers across critical sectors.
The conference had as its theme, “Designing Adaptive Systems: Engineering Energy, Net Zero, Delivering Tomorrow’s Infrastructure.”
Rabiu commended APWEN’s executive committee and members for their continued contribution to the engineering profession and national development.
He urged the association to remain a platform for mentorship and leadership development.
“I encourage APWEN to remain a platform for mentorship and leadership development and I urge all participants to engage this Conference with openness, courage and a spirit of innovation,” he said.
He said climate pressures were intensifying while energy systems were undergoing major changes.
“Nigeria cannot afford to be a passive observer of these transformations; we must be the designers of our own future,” Rabiu said.
He added that the future required the creativity and leadership of women engineers in energy, digital technology, environmental engineering and other fields.
Also speaking, the President of APWEN, Engr. Chinyere Nnenna Igwegbe, called for greater investment in women engineers and young people entering the profession.
She said APWEN remained committed to mentoring young engineers and collegiate members while creating opportunities for them to develop their skills.
“To every young engineer and collegiate here today: you belong in this profession. Your ideas matter. Your voice is needed,” Igwegbe said.
She urged stakeholders to invest in girls in STEM programmes, undergraduates in student chapters and early-career engineers.
Igwegbe said engineering should ultimately be measured by its impact on people’s daily lives.
“A child who can study after dark, a mother whose community no longer floods, a young woman who dares to dream of a career in engineering because she saw someone who looked like her leading the way,” she said.
She added, “Engineering must impact lives and remember that engineering is not about structures alone, it is about people.”
The APWEN president also called for stronger collaboration between government, the private sector, industry, academia, professional bodies, development partners and communities.
“We must deliberately break silos,” she said, stressing that partnerships were necessary to translate engineering ideas into practical solutions.
She said APWEN would continue to serve as a bridge between stakeholders and provide platforms for ideas, partnerships and implementation.
Procurement policy
In his goodwill message, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, said the National Policy on Affirmative Procurement could create greater opportunities for women-owned and women-led businesses.
Director General represented by
the Head of the Energy Infrastructure Department at BPP,Engr. Eugenia Esso Ojeah, said public procurement represented a significant portion of government expenditure and could be deliberately structured to promote economic inclusion.
According to him, women-owned businesses often face barriers including limited access to capital, inadequate technical capacity and historical exclusion from large-scale contracting opportunities.
“The National Policy on Affirmative Procurement therefore seeks to level the playing field by creating deliberate pathways for inclusion, while maintaining the core principles of competitiveness, transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility,” Adedokun said.
He explained that the policy did not provide preferential treatment without merit but sought to expand opportunities and strengthen supplier diversity.
Adedokun said mechanisms such as quota allocation, joint bidding and subcontracting could provide practical pathways for eligible women-owned businesses to participate in public procurement.
He urged women engineers to establish and grow engineering firms, consulting practices, construction companies and technology enterprises capable of competing for public contracts.
He said greater participation of women-owned enterprises would also support innovation, job creation and stronger local value chains.
‘Improve electricity reliability’
Delivering the keynote address, former Minister of Aviation, Engr. Dr Babatunde Omotoba, called for urgent improvements in the reliability of Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure.
“We need to improve the reliability of our electricity infrastructure. We need to reduce waste and improve energy efficiency,” Omotoba said.
He also called for greater investment in innovation and research, urging stakeholders to ensure that technologies adopted in Nigeria were appropriate to the country’s circumstances.
Omotoba said the engineer of the future would increasingly need to work across traditional professional boundaries.
He said engineers would require knowledge of digital technology, renewable energy, environmental management, data and automation.
“This is why education must continue beyond the university classroom,” he said.
On net-zero development, the former minister said the concept must move beyond international conferences and become part of how infrastructure was designed, constructed, operated and maintained.
He challenged engineers to examine how buildings could use energy more efficiently, industries could reduce waste and transportation systems could become cleaner.
Omotoba also stressed the need for greater participation of women in engineering.
“The future of engineering in Nigeria must include the full participation of women,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to encourage young girls to pursue engineering and ensure they had female role models in leadership, research and major infrastructure projects.
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