In a bid to boost power generation in the country, the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) on Saturday in Lagos urged the Federal Government to collaborate with professionals in the sector.
“For the power sector to move forward, we must learn to involve those who have specific knowledge in helping us to identify the problems and proffer `professional’ solutions rather than `political’ solutions.
“I believe that if Federal Government gives professionals the opportunity to do their work with its support, it may get us better value than any other way,” the National Chairman of the body, Mr Emmanuel Akinwole, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing three-day 12th National Technical Retreat/Workshop of the institution in Ikeja.
Akinwole said the institution had been providing opportunity for partnership with various tiers of government by organising exhibitions and other programmes to foster collaborations to speed up development in the power sector.
According to him, government officials, manufacturers and other stakeholders usually have annual opportunities for first-hand interactions with NIEEE and are told areas to improve upon.
“For the government officials, they are usually able to get professional opinion as regards the state of power and what also they may need to do to improve their work.”
Akinwole noted that the electrical aspect of engineering was attracting a lot of young people, hence the inauguration of the institution’s programme to mentor young technicians.
He added that artisans, technologists and other professionals were usually given opportunities for mentorship as part of efforts to check quackery in the profession.
He called on members of the public to patronise only registered and certified electrical and electronic engineers to avoid getting into trouble with their installations.
“It is very dangerous to patronise quacks when it comes to electrical engineering.”
NIEEE is a subsidiary of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the theme of the retreat/workshop is “Inauguration and Management of NIEEE Chapters for Professional Sustainable Development”. (NAN)
