By Isqil Najim
The Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, has a new Executive Secretary as Engr. Aliyu Ibrahim Dutsin Ma, has officially assumed office today, July 1, 2026, at the National Engineering Centre, Abuja.
His resumption marks a new phase in the Society’s administrative structure as the leadership under President Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu continues to drive what it has described as the Resetting Agenda for the Society.
A formal handover ceremony was conducted by the immediate past Acting Executive Secretary, Abdulkadir A. Aliyu, who presented detailed transition notes to ensure continuity in the day to day running of the Secretariat.
Speaking on the appointment, NSE President, Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu, described the new Executive Secretary as an experienced insider with the capacity to strengthen the operations of the Secretariat. He urged him to ensure effective implementation of the Society’s policies and programmes going forward.
Responding, Engr. Dutsin Ma expressed gratitude for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to work closely with the leadership and staff of the Society to guarantee efficient service delivery.
Engr. Aliyu Ibrahim Dutsin Ma is a Civil Engineer and an accomplished public servant with a long history of loyalty and service within the NSE family. He hails from Dutsin Ma, a historic town in Katsina State, where he had both his primary education, between 1972 and 1978, and secondary education, between 1978 and 1983.
He began his engineering education at Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, formerly known as Katsina Polytechnic, where he obtained his National Diploma between 1984 and 1986, before proceeding to Kaduna Polytechnic for his Higher National Diploma between 1992 and 1994.
He later advanced his studies at Bayero University Kano, where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Civil Engineering between 2004 and 2006, followed by a Master of Engineering degree between 2007 and 2011.
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a Member of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers, and an accredited Cost Engineer with the Institute of Appraisers and Cost Engineers, a combination that reflects both his technical grounding and his understanding of project economics.
Before his appointment as Executive Secretary, Engr. Dutsin Ma built his career largely in the public sector, rising to the rank of Director in the Katsina State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport, where he served in the Civil Engineering Department for several decades, overseeing the planning, supervision and delivery of infrastructure projects across the state.
His involvement with the NSE dates back to 2008, when he registered with the Kano Branch. He later transferred to the Katsina Branch in 2014, his home state, where he quickly rose through the ranks. In 2016, he was elected Chairman of the NSE Katsina Branch, a position in which he recorded notable achievements, including the recovery and full rehabilitation of the branch secretariat, which had previously been under government occupation. The recovered facility, now known as the Nigerian Society of Engineers Complex Katsina, houses modern offices, a conference hall and a standby generator.
During his tenure as Branch Chairman, he also re established the relationship between the NSE Katsina Branch and the State Government, securing an audience with the Governor to offer free consultancy services in support of government development programmes.
He set up an examination centre in Katsina, with the first NSE examination held there on September 27, 2018, and personally led membership drive visits to Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi States to grow the Society’s membership base in the North West. Two new NSE divisions were also created in Katsina under his leadership.
He was subsequently elected into the NSE National Executive Committee representing the North West region, where he served across multiple tenures. His performance and loyalty to the Society eventually earned him the position of Vice President of Collaboration and Linkages under the current administration led by Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu, a role he holds as part of the 2026 EXCO. In that capacity, he championed inter institutional engagements and strengthened branch to national connectivity across the Society.
As Executive Secretary, Engr. Dutsin Ma now takes on the role of chief administrative officer of Nigeria’s premier engineering body, with responsibility for overseeing the day to day operations of the NSE Secretariat, coordinating between the elected leadership and professional staff, managing external relations, and ensuring the smooth execution of the Society’s programmes.
Outside of his engineering and professional engagements, Engr. Dutsin Ma is known as a man of warm character and quiet determination. He enjoys reading and playing badminton in his spare time.
The Society has wished him a fruitful, impactful and rewarding tenure at the helm of the NSE Secretariat.
Isqil Najim can be reached on Linkedin HERE
