Engineers Critical To Bayelsa Development, Deputy Gov Tells NSE

Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Dr Peter Akpe, has described engineers as critical to the state's development, particularly the New Yenagoa City project.

Akpe made the remarks when members of the Yenagoa branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Yenagoa. He said engineers occupy a strategic position in city development and noted that Bayelsa, as a rapidly developing state, needs their professional expertise.

The Deputy Governor attributed building collapses and failed projects, in some cases, to a failure to engage qualified engineers or to compromised professional standards. “By training, engineers are the master planners. If we want to get the best of a city, engineers are the professionals in the plan".

“Everybody and anybody can just do anything, but if we want to get the best, we need the engineers. Most of these failed buildings are because professionals were not engaged or standards compromised,” he said.

Akpe said engineers play an important role in Bayelsa’s development and urged stakeholders not to undermine the profession.

“As engineers, you have a very big role to play especially in a state like Bayelsa, which is a rapidly developing state. So no one should undermine you as a profession,” he said.

He recalled the contributions of local engineers, including Engr. Moses Dika and Engr. Olice Kemenanabo, to the state’s gas turbine project, saying the government holds the engineering profession in high regard. Akpe assured the NSE of the state government’s support for its programmes but advised that requests for funding for training should be submitted collectively through the association rather than by individual members.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Yenagoa branch of the NSE, Engr. Eluanatein Mac-Jokori, said the visit aimed to strengthen the association’s strategic partnership with the state government. Mac-Jokori congratulated Akpe on his elevation as Deputy Governor and appealed for government sponsorship for members to participate in NSE and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) training programmes and conferences.

He also requested government support for promote engineering education and build a 500-metre access road to the NSE Yenagoa flagship Engineering Resource Centre.

Responding to the requests, Akpe reiterated the state government’s support for the NSE and advised the association to channel such requests through its central body rather than individual members.