The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), on Saturday, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to give female engineers an opportunity to fix the nation’s moribund refineries.
Newly-elected APWEN Lagos Chapter Chairman, Mrs Atinuke Owolabi, made the call during the association’s public lecture and Annual General Meeting in Ikeja.
Owolabi assured that female engineers spread across the various arms of the profession could fix the refineries within a year.
“All women engineers are ready to come together and see how we can proffer solutions, making sure that we revamp these refineries.
“So, we call on our president to challenge female engineers to revamp and rehabilitate these refineries, and I want to assure you that, within a year, just challenge us, we will make sure that the refineries would be put to operation by the grace of God,” she said.
She said any nation aspiring for development must empower its indigenous engineers and manpower.
“It is imperative that our homegrown engineers are empowered and granted the right opportunity to showcase our competence,” she said.
She said women had inbuilt natural qualities of being good managers and being excellent, adding that their talents should also be explored in building roads and other critical infrastructure.
Owolabi said Nigeria should reduce reliance on foreign experts and give opportunity to local engineers who are equally or more competent than their imported counterparts.
“I want to also implore our leaders, especially our president and governors, to empower indigenous engineers because we are very good.
The guest speaker, Mrs Olayinka Abdul, speaking on the theme, “The Role of Female Engineers in Building Sustainable Infrastructure”, said rising fuel prices required urgent measures for green alternatives.
Abdul, a former APWEN President, said green buildings reduce wastes, conserve energy and ensure huge energy savings and enormous long-term benefits.
She said Lagos was investing heavily in renewable energy while listing completed and ongoing interventions in various sectors, including health, education, housing and transportation.
