BENIN CITY — The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Benin Branch, on Sunday, June 28, presented scholarship awards to four outstanding public secondary school students in Benin metropolis, even as its Chairman, Engr. (Mrs) Tina Emwinghare Oigiagbe, called for stronger engineering governance to drive infrastructure delivery in Edo State.
The presentation took place during the 9th Late Engr. G. O. Aiwerioba Public Lecture Series, an annual event instituted by the Branch to immortalise the founding father of engineering practice in Nigeria, the late Engr. Chief Geoffrey Osatohanmwen Aiwerioba, FNSE, OON.
Speaking at the event, Engr. Oigiagbe said the occasion was one that brought the Society joy each year, noting that the 4th edition of the NSE Benin Branch Scholarship Programme had once again proved the depth of academic talent existing in public schools across Benin metropolis.
According to her, the scholarship examination was conducted as a Computer Based Test on Tuesday, June 9, drawing five nominated students each from 14 public secondary schools within the metropolis.
At the end of the examination, two students of Ogbe Secondary School, Balogun Divine and Omosefe Osayemewenere, tied for first position after scoring 85 marks each, while their schoolmate, Abhumen Ofure, placed third with 75 marks. A student of Oba Akenzua II Secondary School, Eze Joseph, who scored 51 marks, received a Special Consideration Award for fourth position.
The Branch Chairman disclosed that scholarship awards were presented to the four beneficiaries in recognition of their outstanding performance in the examination.
Engr. Oigiagbe congratulated Ogbe Secondary School for producing three of the four award winners, describing the feat as a testament to the dedication of the students, their teachers and school management. She equally commended Oba Akenzua II Secondary School for placing fourth, noting that the performance showed promise and a spirit of healthy academic rivalry among the participating schools.
She charged the award recipients not to rest on their oars, urging them to remain disciplined in their studies and become worthy ambassadors of their schools and communities. The Chairman also appealed to well meaning individuals, corporate bodies and friends of the Branch to sustain support for the scholarship scheme so that more indigent but gifted students could benefit in subsequent editions.
On the theme of the lecture, Strengthening Infrastructure Delivery Through Engineering Governance in Edo State, the Chairman said the topic was chosen to proffer practical solutions capable of accelerating economic growth and improving the living standard of Edo people through disciplined and accountable engineering practice. She stressed that project implementation, monitoring and sustainability must go hand in hand if government investments in infrastructure are to yield lasting value.
She used the occasion to thank Governor Monday Okpebholo for honouring the invitation of the Branch and for what she described as his administration’s commitment to infrastructural renewal in the state, while also appreciating the National President of the NSE, Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu, for what she called his visionary leadership of the Society.
In his own remarks, the NSE National President, Engr. Rabiu, paid tribute to the late Engr. Aiwerioba, describing him as a visionary whose sacrifices, including confrontations with the colonial administration over the recognition of engineering practice in Nigeria, opened the way for present day Nigerian engineers. He urged the Edo State Government to continue creating an enabling environment for indigenous engineers, insisting that no nation could achieve lasting development by relying solely on foreign expertise.
Delivering the lecture, the Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Project Implementation and Monitoring, Engr. Mrs Phoebe Williams Bello, who was also honoured at the event, listed some of the infrastructural projects executed by the state government, including roads across the three senatorial districts, ultra modern markets and flyovers. She charged engineers to uphold professional ethics, mentor younger colleagues and ensure that feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments precede any project execution.
The event also witnessed the induction of 42 new members into the Society, who thereafter took the professional oath of office.
Also speaking at the occasion, the daughter of the late Engr. Aiwerioba, Miss Kehinde Aiwerioba, commended the NSE for keeping the memory of her father alive through the annual lecture, while the Principal of Akenzua Secondary School, Mr Mike Ipogah, thanked the Society for giving public school students a platform to showcase their academic potential and prayed for the continuity of the initiative.