Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on Nigeria to place engineering, innovation and emerging technologies at the heart of national development, saying the country’s digital economy and industrial transformation depend on sustained investment in local engineering capacity.
Speaking at the opening of the 34th Engineering Assembly organised by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in Abuja, Yilwatda urged policymakers to make engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other emerging technologies central to national planning.
The annual gathering brought together engineers, policymakers, academics and industry leaders to discuss the future of engineering practice, regulation and infrastructure development in Nigeria.
Engineering, according to the APC chairman, is no longer limited to roads, bridges and buildings, but has become the foundation for digital technologies, advanced manufacturing, smart infrastructure and industrial competitiveness.
“Nigeria’s quest for sustainable development, economic transformation, industrial growth and global competitiveness,” Yilwatda added, “can only be achieved by placing engineering, innovation and technology at the centre of national planning and execution.”
“Nigeria’s quest for sustainable development, economic transformation, industrial growth and global competitiveness,” Yilwatda added, “can only be achieved by placing engineering, innovation and technology at the centre of national planning and execution.”
Engineers are expected to design systems that improve lives, develop resilient infrastructure, modernise agriculture, strengthen healthcare, expand digital connectivity and support industrial growth, he said.
Yilwatda argued that Nigeria’s ambition to build a knowledge-driven economy requires deliberate investment in engineering education, research, innovation and indigenous technological capabilities.
He said countries that have successfully industrialised did so by empowering engineers, scientists and innovators to develop home-grown technologies capable of addressing national challenges.
“Nigeria possesses abundant human capital, natural resources and youthful talent capable of driving technological advancement if properly supported through sound government policies, strategic partnerships and sustained investment in science, engineering and innovation,” he said.
He identified digital infrastructure, telecommunications, power, manufacturing, transportation, mining and water resources as sectors where engineering expertise remains essential to national development.
Looking ahead, Yilwatda urged Nigerian engineers to prepare for technologies reshaping the global economy, including artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, smart infrastructure, renewable energy, green construction technologies, data science and advanced manufacturing.
He also called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, regulators, universities, professional bodies and the private sector to accelerate innovation, infrastructure delivery and technology adoption across the country.
Expressing confidence in the profession, the APC chairman said Nigerian engineers have the capacity to close the nation’s infrastructure gap while creating jobs, improving productivity and driving inclusive economic growth.
The Engineering Assembly, themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement, and a Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” is examining ways to strengthen engineering regulation, improve compliance, combat quackery and enhance public safety across Nigeria’s infrastructure sector.
The conference comes as COREN continues to modernise engineering regulation through digital transformation initiatives, including online verification of registered engineers and engineering firms, expanded monitoring and enforcement systems, and closer collaboration with universities to improve engineering education. The council has also introduced stricter admission quotas for engineering programmes to align student enrolment with available teaching facilities and laboratory capacity.
Author
Home
