Yemisi Izuora
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu has commended the contribution of women engineers in the socio-economic development of the nation.
Capt. Akinkuotu who made these remarks at the investiture ceremony of Engr. Felicia Agubata, a staff of the NAMA as the 15th President of the Association of professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) in Lagos noted that Nigeria’s history would be incomplete without the courage, doggedness and industry of women engineers who have made impressive and indelible contributions towards Nigeria’s technological advancement.
He commended Engr.Agubata for her “excellence, professionalism, hard work, diligence and commitment to duties, particularly in the deployment of Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) which is working very well,” stressing that the “it is worthy of note that she has impacted the engineering department positively in various ways during the few years she has worked for the agency.”
The NAMA boss said though the engineering sector is male-dominated, women like Agubata “have made tremendous progress and impressive marks and given the enablement and encouragement, they will further enhance the system with their invaluable contributions.” He charged the newly inaugurated National Committee of APWEN to work assiduously towards upholding the ideals of the association by partnering with other organizations and groups towards making their tenure successful. Earlier in his remarks, the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, (NSE) Adekunle Mokuolu said “since inception, APWEN has committed to programmes that are targeted at promoting the engineering profession particularly among girls in secondary schools, women studying engineering in the universities and women in engineering practice,” adding that the NSE under his leadership would “partner with them to drive these noble ideals.”
Mokuolu noted that by virtue of being a pragmatic engineer, “APWEN under Agubata would witness tremendous progress as she is determined to enhance professional development among women engineers in the country.” He also thanked President Mohammadu Buhari for the implementation of the Presidential Executive Order 5 for planning and execution of projects, promotion of Nigerian content in contracts, science, engineering and technology. In her acceptance speech, Engr. Agubata promised to partner with relevant organizations and institutions to promote and propagate the tenets and programmes of APWEN, saying that the focus of her administration would be to galvanize the interest of the girl-child in engineering profession by reaching out to them through successful women engineers in different localities across the country. A highly experienced and versatile communication engineer, Agubata, a Chief Air Traffic Safety Systems Officer in NAMA was former Director of International Federation of Air Traffic Electronics Association (IFATSEA) African Region and past Chairman of APWEN, Lagos Chapter.