Buhari has transformed infrastructure development in Nigeria – Akpabio

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio has affirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to change the narrative of infrastructure development and economic growth of the nation.

The former Governor made this statement when addressing members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Bwari branch, in their 2022 Annual Public Lecture yesterday.

Akpabio, a former senator, said over the years, Nigeria has suffered poor infrastructure development, which has affected its economic growth, adding that there have been many approaches around infrastructural development and several presentations by past administrations with little or no active action in reality.

He also stressed the critical role of the engineering profession to a vast facet of the national life and the need to initiate the process of technology transfer that would help young engineers deepen their technical proficiency which they can leverage on and become employers of labour.

Speaking further, he explained that the group’s 22nd public lecture with focus on the Gas Sector, demonstrates its understanding of the time and NSE’s determination to contribute to National Economic Growth and believed that engineering would continue to occupy a critical role in National Development.

“There is no misgiving in admitting that as a professional body, your association have acquitted yourself. However, there is some noticeable gap. Our young engineers are more theoretically grounded than been practically equipped. There is a need to expose them to frequent training and re-training to make them compete favorably with their counterparts all over the world. I look forward to when we would have wholly owned Nigerian Construction firms in the mould of established construction companies,” he said.

He explained that for us to achieve this feat, we must initiate the process of technology transfer that help our young engineers deepen their technical proficiency and with consistent robbing of minds as the case of this public lecture, I foresee greater horizon for the Nigerian society of engineers and indeed our engineers he noted.

According to him, “I have no reservation in asserting that the current administration of President Buhari, has made the Nigerian Society of Engineers proud. It is in this present administration that we have witnessed unbridled revolution in the building of Public infrastructure, “the rail lines have been constructed and trains are sputtering into life. The administration has been adjudged as having constructed more roads than any other administration since our return to democracy”, he stated.