NATE kicks against appointing non-engineers for engineering related offices
Jethro Yerga, Jalingo
The Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE), has called on governments at all levels to desist from the ugly trends of appointing Personel who do not have engineering background to man engineering related offices in the country.
The National President of the association, Rt Hon. GST Dominic Uduatan KSM, disclosed the position of the association while delivering a welcome speech at the three-day 38th Conference of Technologists in Engineering and Annual General Meeting held in Jalingo, the Taraba State Capital.
The president stated that the country had entangled so many challenges ranging from power supply, Cost of production at every Small Scale and Medium Service Enterprise as well as other engineering related problems basically because non engineering Personel are occupying offices that they did not deserved.
” I want to call on governments at all levels to ensure that engineering Personel who are the bed lock of Technological advancement in the planning and implementation stages of sustainable, innovative entrepreneurship development.
“Also, fundings and management of technology incubation program center should be manned by competent engineering Ministries and Engineering related esterblishments. Government at all levels have the responsibility to create a fertile ground for entrepreneurship, industrialization and sustainable technological development to strive.
“Government, employers and stakeholders should also give utmost priority to training and retraining of engineering Personel to keep them abreast of modern engineering technological trends. If all these are done effectively, the challenges of Nigeria power, and the cost of production at every Small Scale and Medium Service Enterprise will be drastically reduced to the barest minimum and the citizens will enjoy goods and services at affordable rate”. He added.
While challenging engineers to wake up and live up to their responsibilities, Hon. Dominic highlighted construction of building for entrepreneural Development, the electricity needed in the running of companies, fabricated machine needed for the processing of raw materials up to fueling and maintainance of equipment needed for the transportation of goods and services to the final consumers among others, as some of the responsibilities saddled on the shoulders of an engineering Personel in which the teaming population are looking up to them for some cost effective solutions.
Harping on the achievements recorded under his leadership as the president, Hon. Dominic revealed that his administration had among other things, worked for the abolition of the disparity between HND and B.Sc holders, improve synergy between NATE and other professional bodies and had launched a new website.
He stated that the administration had also chartered new branches, resuscitated the Technologist Magazine and NATE Table Calenders as well as embarked on building of National Secretariat at Abuja project in which, work was ongoing.
He appealed to the Federal Government and the Governors if the North East to bridge the disparity between HND and BSC holders beyond salary Grade level 14 which he said is also the terminal point for national Diploma holders, so as to boost the morales of engineers to invest more in energy to achieve effective service delivery.
The president commended the Taraba State Government, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku for investing massively in road construction and infrastructural development as well as skills acquisition and Economic Empowerment project.
He however, appealed to the Governor to donate a permanent secretariat to NATE, Taraba State branch in remembrance of the historical conference and anual general meeting.
Meanwhile, the Anual Meeting of NATE this year is anchored on a theme; The role of engineering Personel in promoting entrepreneurship, innovations and sustainable technological development in Nigeria.
The meeting saw the presentation of fellowship awards and induction of some distinguished citizens and members into board of fellow of the association
