The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the umbrella body for all engineering professionals in the country, has expressed worry over the list of ministerial nominees sent to the Senate for confirmation in the ongoing screening exercise as it allegedly did not reflect the desire of Nigerians to have astute professionals in key areas of the economy, especially in infrastructure.
The society, in a press statement made available to Sunday Tribune at the weekend, said it was shocked that there was no single engineer in the President’s list.
“We, therefore, ask: Who is to man these key engineering-based ministries? Over the years, we have advocated that square pegs be put in square holes in ministries of power, works, water resources, communication, industries, steel, petroleum, etc. Many of these ministries have not had an engineer as a minister since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999,” the NSE said in the statement signed by its president, Mr. Olumuyiwa Ajibola.
The society added that it was rather curious that despite the government-avowed intention to improve power supply in the country over the years, the Ministry of Power has not had a power engineer to drive the initiative as minister.
This, the NSE said, was a clear demonstration that the government had not got its priorities right as the value of an experienced professional in that position should not be a matter for debate.
“The society is dumbfounded that none of the nominees on the list so far, both confirmed and about-to-be-confirmed, is an engineer and wonders which of them would pilot a knowledge-driven policy formulation and implementation in the engineering-based ministries listed earlier.
“We believe that we cannot fold our hands and watch the administration drift away from the expectations of professionals and many Nigerians,“ the statement added.
The society said as earlier stated in its memo entitled; “The Route to Progress and Prosperity, “ sent to President Jonathan, it was of the view that the success of the President in his role as Executive-in-Chief would hinge on his success in attracting and selecting appropriate talents into both political appointments and employment in public service.
“With the President’s garb of the Executive-in-Chief, it behoves him to lay emphasis on an approach that will produce the best end-results. This approach is clearly weighted in favour of technocrats being appointed into the cabinet of Mr. President.
“The process of screening so far observed does not indicate the portfolios for which the candidates are being considered. Surely, the field of competence of a candidate should be paramount to the expected performance in the intended office. This is the only fair and transparent way of ensuring that square pegs are put in square holes as mentioned earlier. The outcome of this process, if adopted, would guarantee that each minister may not require an unnecessarily long time in office to deliver.
“In making this demand, engineers strongly recommend to Mr. President to depoliticise the selection process and demystify the Senate screening exercise by attaching portfolios to those nominated for ministerial appointments. This process would have helped the senators in the screening exercise as they would have focused their attention on the sector so designated. This has not happened,” the statement added.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayThe society, in a press statement made available to Sunday Tribune at the weekend, said it was shocked that there was no single engineer in the President’s list.
“We, therefore, ask: Who is to man these key engineering-based ministries? Over the years, we have advocated that square pegs be put in square holes in ministries of power, works, water resources, communication, industries, steel, petroleum, etc. Many of these ministries have not had an engineer as a minister since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999,” the NSE said in the statement signed by its president, Mr. Olumuyiwa Ajibola.
The society added that it was rather curious that despite the government-avowed intention to improve power supply in the country over the years, the Ministry of Power has not had a power engineer to drive the initiative as minister.
This, the NSE said, was a clear demonstration that the government had not got its priorities right as the value of an experienced professional in that position should not be a matter for debate.
“The society is dumbfounded that none of the nominees on the list so far, both confirmed and about-to-be-confirmed, is an engineer and wonders which of them would pilot a knowledge-driven policy formulation and implementation in the engineering-based ministries listed earlier.
“We believe that we cannot fold our hands and watch the administration drift away from the expectations of professionals and many Nigerians,“ the statement added.
The society said as earlier stated in its memo entitled; “The Route to Progress and Prosperity, “ sent to President Jonathan, it was of the view that the success of the President in his role as Executive-in-Chief would hinge on his success in attracting and selecting appropriate talents into both political appointments and employment in public service.
“With the President’s garb of the Executive-in-Chief, it behoves him to lay emphasis on an approach that will produce the best end-results. This approach is clearly weighted in favour of technocrats being appointed into the cabinet of Mr. President.
“The process of screening so far observed does not indicate the portfolios for which the candidates are being considered. Surely, the field of competence of a candidate should be paramount to the expected performance in the intended office. This is the only fair and transparent way of ensuring that square pegs are put in square holes as mentioned earlier. The outcome of this process, if adopted, would guarantee that each minister may not require an unnecessarily long time in office to deliver.
“In making this demand, engineers strongly recommend to Mr. President to depoliticise the selection process and demystify the Senate screening exercise by attaching portfolios to those nominated for ministerial appointments. This process would have helped the senators in the screening exercise as they would have focused their attention on the sector so designated. This has not happened,” the statement added.
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