By Isqil Najim
The Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) led by prod Rahman Adisa Bello, on Thursday inducted 12 new fellows and honoured 10 distinguished engineers with Lifetime Achievement Awards, in a ceremony that formed part of the investiture of Professor Umar Garba Danbatta as the 14th President of the Academy, held at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos.
The induction and awards segment of the award was witnessed by distinguished personalities who came from all over the country a s past presidents, vice-chancellors, and senior figures in the engineering profession, as the Academy recognised men and women whose careers span petroleum engineering, structural design, public infrastructure, power systems, and academia.
Speaking on behalf of the newly inducted fellows, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye pledged their collective commitment to advancing engineering excellence and contributing to national development.
The outgoing President Professor Rahamon Bello charged the new inductees to see their admission as more than a personal honour.
“You are joining a community of thought leaders and nation-builders. Your expertise is needed now more than ever to support national development and advance the work of the academy,” Bello told them.
Among the 12 new fellows inducted were Engr. Adekunle Ayodeji Adebajo, Engr. (Mrs.) Aramide Monsurat Adeyoye, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, Engr. Prof. David Ehgie Esezobor, Engr. Barry Esimone, Engr. Babatunde Johnson (OON), Engr. (Mrs.) Abiola Oludaiye-Kosegbe, Engr. Joseph Ezeh Nwakwue, Engr. Prof. Joshua Olanrewaju Olaoye, Engr. George Arinze Otoh, Engr. Prof. Mathew Nojimu O. Sadiku, and Engr. Bako Wakil.
Three Decades of Building: Engr. Adekunle Ayodeji Adebajo
Among the new fellows, few careers stretch as far or as wide as that of Engr. Adekunle Ayodeji Adebajo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ove Arup & Partners Nigeria Limited, a firm he has served since 1982 and led since 1987. Born in Ogun State in 1960, Adebajo trained as a civil engineer at the University of Wales before specialising in structural steelwork at the University of London and earning the Diploma of Imperial College.
Over more than four decades, Adebajo has shaped the design and delivery of complex civil, structural, and industrial projects across Nigeria, ranging from urban developments and breweries to data centres and transportation infrastructure. As President of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers between 2003 and 2005, he confronted one of Nigeria’s most persistent public safety concerns — the recurrent collapse of buildings — and has remained a leading voice on structural safety ever since, currently chairing the institution’s Ethics and Discipline Committee. He now serves as President of the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria, capping a career the Academy describes as marked by “technical excellence, mentorship, and principled leadership.”
From the Third Mainland Bridge to Lagos State House: Engr. (Mrs.) Aramide Adeyoye
Engr. (Mrs.) Aramide Adeyoye’s induction carries a particular weight of firsts. Born in Lagos in 1967 and trained in civil engineering at the University of Lagos, with an MBA from the Lagos Business School, she built her early career at Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, where over three decades she rose to project coordinator and helped deliver some of Lagos State’s most iconic infrastructure — the Third Mainland Bridge, the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge, Awolowo Road, and Ikoyi Bourdillon Road among them.
In 2019, she retired from Julius Berger to become the first woman ever appointed Special Adviser for Works and Infrastructure to the Governor of Lagos State, a role she held until 2023, during which she drove reforms in quality control and quality assurance across government infrastructure projects. Today, as CEO of ABM Infrastructure Advisory Ltd and an Independent Director at renewable energy firm Scandpoint Limited, she continues to combine engineering depth with a strong interest in sustainability — a career the Academy holds up as proof of what disciplined, decades-long fieldwork can achieve.
Reforming Lagos from the Inside: Engr. (Mrs.) Abiola Oludaiye-Kosegbe
Engr. (Mrs.) Abiola Oludaiye-Kosegbe’s fellowship reflects a career spent largely inside government, quietly reshaping how Lagos State builds, regulates, and manages its physical environment. Born in the United Kingdom in 1965, she trained as a civil engineer at Queen Mary College, University of London, before later adding postgraduate qualifications in environmental management and urban and regional planning.
After beginning her career with Taylor Woodrow Construction in the UK, she joined the Lagos State Government in 1996 and spent nearly three decades moving through the Ministries of Transportation, Environment, and Works, the Lagos Waste Management Authority, and the Lagos State Building Control Agency, eventually retiring in 2025 as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources. Along the way, she helped draft the Waste Management Sector Policy for Lagos State, the LAWMA Law of 2007, and the Lagos State Electricity Law of 2024, and introduced the use of drone technology for monitoring building contraventions in the state — a quiet but far-reaching record of public-sector engineering reform.
Lifetime Achievement Awardees Honoured for Decades of Service
Beyond the new fellows, the Academy turned its attention to 10 senior engineers honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards, each recognised for careers that, in many cases, stretch back to the years immediately following Nigeria’s independence.
Engr. Dr. (Mrs.) Olatokunbo Arinola Somolu was celebrated for a career that took her from a pupil engineer at Sokoto Waterworks in 1973 to Group General Manager of the Engineering and Technology Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a position she held until her retirement in 2009. Along the way, she supervised the construction of major national landmarks, including the NNPC Towers Complex in Abuja and the New Atlas Cove Jetty.
Engr. Afolabi Oyedeji Rasak Oladele was honoured for a career spanning the oil and gas, finance, and investment sectors, including his role as Group Executive Director, Downstream, at NNPC, and later as a partner at African Capital Alliance, where he managed a portfolio of assets worth USD 1.25 billion. He also led the listing of Aradel Plc on the Nigerian capital market and helped deploy solar electricity solutions to underserved communities in Osun State.
Engr. Clement Adeyinka Oke was recognised for decades of work in Nigeria’s energy sector, rising from Efficiency Engineer at the Sapele Power Station to Acting Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power. He coordinated the technical feasibility study for the West African Gas Pipeline Project across Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, and led national domestic gas supply efforts.
Engr. Prof. James Momoh, whose academic and regulatory career bridges Nigeria and the United States, was honoured for his leadership as Chair and CEO of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission between 2018 and 2020, and for a research career that has produced four patents, more than 300 published journal articles, and 11 textbooks on power systems and artificial intelligence.
Engr. Prof. Yinusa Alaro Jimoh was celebrated for his contributions to highway and pavement engineering, including his work as a Materials Engineer on the World Bank’s 7th Highway Sector Loan project and his research into biomass-based pavement development and municipal waste recycling for road infrastructure, alongside his years as Dean at the University of Ilorin.
Engr. Prof. Adetokunbo Omokayode Denloye was honoured for a career bridging academia and industry, having served as a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Lagos and pioneer Head of the Chemical and Polymer Engineering Department at Lagos State University, while leading the team that developed N-SPEC, a technical framework still in use by the Academy today.
His Royalty Engr. Oliver Tabugbo Anyaeji, traditional ruler of Ubahu-Okija in Anambra State, was recognised for an engineering career that included managing a workforce of over 4,500 personnel during construction works at NNPC and formulating Nigeria’s National Automotive Policy, in addition to his service as Vice President of COREN, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and the Federation of African Engineering Organisations.
Engr. Dr. (Mrs.) Fabiya Ine Amakiri was honoured for her leadership in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, having served as Group General Manager for Research and Development at NNPC and Managing Director of the National Engineering and Technical Company, where she led the company to achieve ISO certification in 2004.
Engr. (Mrs.) Mayen Modupeola Adetiba was celebrated for a structural engineering career built over four decades at Delkem Associates, where she worked on landmark projects including the former Durbar Hotel built for Festac 77, the Ibadan Brewery, and the Akwa-Ibom State Governor’s Lodge.
Engr. Kadiri Adebayo Adeola rounded off the list of awardees, honoured for his work in structural design and public health engineering, including the direction of wastewater treatment installations and water resource supply projects, drawing on a career that began as a pupil engineer with the Water Resources & Engineering Construction Agency in Kano in 1975.
Together, the new fellows and Lifetime Achievement Awardees represent what the Academy describes as the backbone of Nigerian engineering — men and women whose individual careers, taken together, have helped build the roads, bridges, power systems, and institutions that the country relies on today.
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