Lagos: The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) has pledged support to the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) following the inauguration of its 22nd President, Dr. Felix Adegboye, in Lagos. Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, Director-General of the commission, described the investiture as a landmark and praised the outgoing leadership for its contributions to the institute. He stressed engineers’ strategic role in national development, particularly within the power sector, and assured the institute of sustained collaboration with the commission.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Abdullahi expressed pride in the outgoing leadership and confidence in the initiatives of the new president. He stated that the Energy Commission of Nigeria would support the institute in addressing challenges and achieving its objectives. Abdullahi also congratulated award recipients, noting that their efforts had advanced engineering practice and strengthened national development.
Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), reaffirmed the party’s commitment to supporting the institute. Represented by Mr. Vonkur Nankpak, a member of NIEEE, he noted that engineers remained central to technological innovation and infrastructure growth across the country. He assured the institute of continued partnership between the party and the engineering community to promote education, research, and sustainable national progress.
Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Tomi Araromi, highlighted Nigeria’s ambition to lead in the digital economy, which he noted was constrained by persistent energy and infrastructure challenges. Araromi, founder of iRecharge Tech Innovations, emphasized that a thriving digital economy depended on reliable electricity and resilient infrastructure. He urged closer collaboration among engineers, scientists, regulators, and innovators to deliver sustainable, technology-driven solutions.
Delivering the lecture, Dr. Oluremi Okunade, Managing Director of Xerox Nigeria Ltd., discussed urgent gaps in skills, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure across West Africa. He stressed the need for home-grown solutions, noting shortages of network engineers, cybersecurity experts, data scientists, and embedded systems engineers. Okunade warned of the migration of talented professionals abroad for better opportunities, which he said weakened the region’s capacity. He also raised concerns over rising cybercrime, scams, and data breaches, which he said continued to erode trust in digital services, while highlighting fragmentation and weak connectivity among government platforms and organizations as barriers to productivity.