By MyEngineers
The Nigerian Institution of Metallurgical, Mining and Materials Engineers (3M-NIMMME) has moved to deepen its strategic collaboration with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and call on the regulatory body to more actively harness the institution’s highly trained membership in accreditation exercises, engineering regulation, and national standards enforcement.
At the recent visit by the leadership of the 3M-NIMMME led by its National Chairman, Engr. Michael Orekyeh, to the Councilor’s headquarters in Abuja on May 15, 2026, when the leadership formally presented its newly inaugurated Executive Council to COREN leadership, the body presented the issue to the council.
The delegation included Engr. Chinasaokwu Okorie (National Vice Chairman), Engr. Chika Okwuolisa (Vice Chairman, Abuja Chapter), Engr. Tertsea Vandeyoon (NSE Bida Branch), Engr. Ikechukwu Onwurafor (Chairman, NSE Obajana Branch), and Umar Muhammad Auwal, a Graduate Member of NIMMME Abuja.
They were received by the COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Zubairu Abubakar, alongside Mr. Andrew Onyilo (Head, COREN Council Secretariat), Mrs. Winifred Madu Bwala (Head, COREN Corporate Advancement and Public Affairs), and Mr. Johnson Abalaka of the President’s Office.
At the meeting, Engr. Orekyeh asserted that Nigeria has a pool of highly skilled metallurgical, mining, and materials engineers trained at home and abroad, who are currently underutilised in the country’s engineering regulation framework.
He drew attention to critical national assets including the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Delta Steel, the Oshogbo, Katsina, and Jos Steel Rolling Mills, and the Itakpe Iron Ore operation — facilities that were designed to be powered by the kind of specialist expertise his institution represents.
Engr. Orekyeh said 3M-NIMMME members are ready and available to participate in COREN’s accreditation exercises across the more than 27 Nigerian institutions that offer programmes in Mining, Metallurgy, and Materials Engineering in one form or another. He also flagged the institution’s strong interest in COREN’s Engineering Regulation and Monitoring (ERM) activities, noting that 3M-NIMMME has deep, hands-on experience in materials testing and quality control — areas critical to engineering sanity at the industrial level.
In his response, Prof. Abubakar, teh Council’s President welcomed the proposals and took the opportunity to brief the team on COREN’s current activities and the full scope of where collaboration is possible.
On accreditation, the COREN President clarified that the scope extends well beyond universities — covering polytechnics, technical colleges, and technical training centres operating under the National Skills Qualification (NSQ) programme. This wider landscape, he noted, significantly expands the demand for specialists in the 3M professions.
He explained that COREN has transitioned to an Outcome-Based Education (OBE) accreditation model, under which all accreditors — drawn from both academia and industry — must be formally trained and certified before joining the COREN accreditor database. He directed 3M-NIMMME to compile a list of their OBE-certified members and submit it to his office by formal letter as the first practical step toward greater accreditation participation.
On the ERM, the President confirmed that State Technical Committees (STCs) across the country require manpower organised along thematic lines, and that several states with active mining operations would be natural entry points for 3M-NIMMME’s involvement. He committed to identifying those states and working with the institution as a valued stakeholder.
Prof. Abubakar also highlighted COREN’s enforcement powers, which he he said go beyond those of other regulatory bodies. While the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) can impound substandard goods, COREN holds the authority to seal factories and blacklist engineering personnel found to have compromised standards in manufacturing and production settings. In addition, the Engineering Disciplinary Tribunal, he said, exists to fast-track misconduct cases and check the activities of quacks and compromised engineers across the industry.
On professional development, the COREN President outlined progress on the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme, under which accumulated CPD points will form a compulsory component of annual COREN licence renewal. Engineers can earn points by attending authorised training programmes, Division conferences, the NSE Annual Conference, and the COREN Assembly.
After the meeting with the President, the delegation proceeded to a separate engagement with COREN Registrar, Prof. O.A.U. Uche, FNSE, at his office.
Prof. Uche acknowledged that some 3M-NIMMME members had participated in past accreditation exercises — singling out the National Vice Chairman, Engr. Chinasaokwu Okorie, as one such example, and pledged to expand that participation going forward to ensure more OBE-certified engineers from the institution are actively deployed on accreditation teams.
The Registrar also addressed what he described as the contemporary challenge of the proliferation of engineering divisions, citing the emergence of the Nigerian Institution of Power Engineers (NIPE) as a current example. He stated that COREN and the NSE were committed to finding a structured resolution to bring such situations back under orderly regulation.
Prof. Uche outlined COREN’s eleven thematic areas — the sectors within which 3M-NIMMME should actively look for opportunities to contribute as a professional body: Construction, Oil and Gas, Telecommunications, Aviation, Maritime, Manufacturing, Mining, Biomedical, Agro-Allied, Power, and Transport.
In her vote of thanks, Mrs. Winifred Madu Bwala, COREN’s Head of Corporate Advancement and Public Affairs, thanked the 3M-NIMMME team for the initiative and the quality of engagement.
For the institution’s part, Engr. Orekyeh pledged to mobilise 3M-NIMMME engineers to take full advantage of the collaboration pathways now clearly on the table.