By Isqil Najim
The West African Federation of Engineering Organisations (WAFEO) has elected new leadership with Ing. Gt. Prof. Rev. Charles Anum Adams of Ghana emerging as President-Elect for the 2027-2029 term. Nigeria’s Engr. Dr. Bola J. Mudasiru, also joins the new team as Vice President (Anglophone).
The elections were held at the Biennial Conference of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers (SLIE) in Freetown, from June 16 to 19, 2026 at a gathering that brought together engineering leaders from across the West African sub-region to chart the next phase of the Federation’s work.
Ing Charles Adams, a Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (F-GhIE) and a Past President of GhIE (2021-2022), was announced President-Elect for the 2027-2029 tenure.
Ing Charles Adams is an Associate Professor in Civil Engineering with specialisation in Transportation Engineering at the Civil Engineering Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. He is the Centre Director of the Ghana Government supported World Bank/ Association of Africa Universities (AAU) Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE) – Regional Transport Research and Education Centre Kumasi (TRECK).
Adams leads the intelligent Traffic Management in Smart cities research group of TRECK and has won several grants and participated in international collaborative projects. He also leads the Centre for Sub Saharan Transport Leadership (CSSTL) hosted at the College of Engineering, KNUST.
Dr Adams has over 25 years experience in teaching, research and consultancy in Ghana and Africa. His research interests covers road safety, informal public transport systems, modelling and simulation of traffic systems and computer based road management systems.
He will succeed Engr. Dadley Decontee Toe of Liberia, who has led WAFEO since 2025. The President-Elect designation signals a transition period during which Adams will work alongside the outgoing leadership before formally assuming office.
Joining him on the new executive is Nigeria’s Engr. Dr. Bola J. Mudasiru, a Deputy National Chairman at Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers. He was elected Vice President (Anglophone).
Reacting to the outcome, NSE President Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu represented at the conference by NSE Past President Engr. Kashim Ali, FNSE, FAEng, congratulated Mudasiru and reaffirmed the Society’s support for his new role.
Rabiu also used the occasion to call for deeper collaboration among West Africa’s national engineering bodies to address the continent’s developmental challenges from food security and energy distribution to climate resilience and urban development through a coordinated regional engineering leadership.
“As Africa continues to confront complex developmental challenges, the need for stronger collaboration among our professional bodies has become even more imperative,” Rabiu said. “These challenges present not only responsibilities, but also opportunities for engineers to demonstrate leadership, innovation and ingenuity.”
Who Is Bola Mudasiru?
Engr. Dr. Bola J. Mudasiru is a COREN-registered civil engineer with more than two decades of experience delivering major road, bridge, and steel-structure projects.
Mudasiru is currently Principal Partner and CEO of Prolarank Nigeria Limited, where he has built a reputation for bringing complex infrastructure projects in on time.
His professional experiences cut across some of Nigeria’s notable construction and engineering outfits, including P.W. Nigeria Limited, Mitcherutti Contractors, Palton Morgan Holdings, SCOA Nigeria Plc, Aquagrowth Nigeria Limited, and Krisbol ESL.
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers, Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers, Fellow of the Institute of Highway Engineers, London, and Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers, among several others. He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Project Management Institute.
Beyond Nigeria, he represents the country on the Executive Board’s External Relations Committee of the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO) and contributes to the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ Working Group on Engineering and Climate Change.
Mudasiru was named the NSE’s 2024 Presidential Merit Award recipient and CED Magazine’s 2025 Professional Man of the Year. He was also on the panel of judges for the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad.and remains a sought-after expert speaker on technical platforms nationally and internationally.
The Story of WAFEO
WAFEO was established in December 2011 during an engineering summit held in Calabar, Nigeria, to unify West Africa’s national engineering institutions under one regional umbrella, working in concert with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and serving as one of five regional blocks under the continental Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO).
The Federation’s mandate rests on three pillars: enabling professional mobility so engineers registered in one member country can practice across borders without redundant certification; strengthening engineering education and technical training to support regional megaprojects such as the West African Power Pool and the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway; and advising governments and ECOWAS on infrastructure standards and public-private partnerships.
Since its founding, the Federation has been led by distinguished engineers from the regions. They are Ing. K.A. Kwakwa (Ghana) – 2012-2014; Ing. Magnus Lincoln Quarshie (Ghana) – 2014-2017; HRH Engr. Otis Oliver Anyaeji (Nigeria) – 2017-2021; Ing. Leslie Alex Ayeh (Ghana) – 2021-2023; Ing. Prof. Jonas Redwood-Sawyerr (Sierra Leone) – 2023-2025; and Engr. Dadley Decontee Toe (Liberia) – 2025-present.
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