APWEN Inaugurates Victoria Island Executives to Advance Female Engineers Devt

Funmi Ogundare

The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), weekend, inaugurated the first Chairperson, Dr. Comfort Afella and other executives of its Victoria Island chapter, to further advance the professional development of practicing female engineers, technologists and scientists.
Speaking at the ceremony held in Lagos, themed, ‘Renewable and Sustainable Energy: Impact In the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector’, the President of the association, Dr. Jumoke Eterigho commended the chairman of Nigeria Society of Engineering (NSE ) Victoria Island,  Aji Ezekiel Agbu, for his efforts in ensuring the establishment of the association in the chapter.

She stressed on the theme of the lecture saying that it is apt, considering the fact that Nigeria which traditionally relies on oil, faces both challenges and opportunities as it navigates the global shift towards cleaner energy sources.
Her words: “The impact of incorporating renewables is multifaceted. Embracing sustainable energy practices makes us as a country to align with global environmental imperatives. Nigeria, like most nations, must address climate change concerns by reducing carbon emissions.”

She explained that transitioning to renewable energy not only mitigates environmental impact, but also positions us as responsible stewards of our planet.
“Economically, diversifying our energy portfolio is crucial. The volatility of oil prices underscores the vulnerability of a mono-economy,” Eterigho stated, while appealing to the executives of the chapter, to work as a team to achieve a solid foundation for sustainability of the chapter.
The Guest Speaker and a Talent Developer, Total Energies Marketing  Nigeria PLC, Mrs. Augustina Eseyoma Ojiyovwi, who emphasised on the theme, described energy as that which plays a vital role in the progress of the economy.

She stressed the need for collaborations between stakeholders and oil and gas companies, adding that government should begin to think of using the tax paid by Nigerians to build energy-producing wind turbine for the betterment of the country.

“We have different turbines which produce energy stored for future use, “she said, adding that government should be deliberate about renewable energy.
“It’s just like building a tank farm. It involves a lot of cost, but people will pay for the energy generated and have their supply regularly. It will be affordable. So if we have enough of these technologies with the right expertise and we are deliberate about it, we can get there.”

Speaking with journalists, Dr. Comfort Afella, explained that APWEN  has the objective of encouraging girls to go into STEM  and that it would continue to go to schools to create awareness and share their success stories  and the benefits of being an engineer with them.
She stated that her administration plans to encourage women engineers around Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Ajah and Epe environs, to ensure that the goals and objectives of the association are met, as well as engage them to know what their challenges are.

According to Afella, “In its 40 years of existence, APWEN has embarked on a mission to increase the number of women practicing engineering in Nigeria and also collaborated with various advocacy groups to progressively and consistently inspire young girls into engineering and science.
“APWEN has also accomplished a lot in the educational and service sector. However, engineering remains one of the least gender diverse professions in Nigeria and the world at large, with an unacceptable slow rate of improvement.

“Considering the massive potentials and contribution of women to the society, we will continue to progress the effort to increase the awareness that engineering is a career for girls in order to improve the numerical strength of female in engineering profession towards national and global technological development until we breakthrough.”