The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has advocated greater utilisation of women engineers to address Nigeria’s energy challenges and drive sustainable development.
The association made the call at the APWEN Lagos Engineering Summit 2026, with the theme: “Bridging Gaps, Building Legacies: Women Engineers Creating Enabling Environments for Growth and Innovation”.
The keynote speaker, Mr Rotimi Adefarasin, said Nigeria could not effectively address its energy trilemma of security, affordability and environmental sustainability without fully utilising the capabilities of women engineers.
Adefarasin said Nigeria had abundant resources but needed to move beyond theoretical education and translate engineering knowledge into practical solutions to address the country’s developmental needs.
He urged senior women engineers to create opportunities for younger professionals through competence development, exposure to new technologies and local and international training.
According to him, women engineers should also develop competence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and embrace continuous learning to remain relevant in a rapidly changing technological environment.
Adefarasin said AI should not necessarily be viewed as a threat to jobs, stressing that professionals who continuously upgraded their skills would remain relevant as technology evolved.
Also speaking, APWEN President, Mrs Chinyere Igwegbe, identified corruption and weak enforcement of policies as major challenges affecting the engineering sector.
Igwegbe called for stronger enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with engineering standards, particularly in the area of infrastructure materials.
She said APWEN was working with stakeholders across the engineering and manufacturing ecosystem to address challenges in the sector.
She said the association was exploring collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and potentially the Bank of Industry to support artisans, technicians and other women in technical fields.
She said APWEN’s “Tools and Tiara” programme was designed to expose artisans, including plumbers and painters, to improved technologies and skills.
The newly inaugurated Chairman of APWEN Lagos, Mrs Bosede Oyekunle, said the chapter would prioritise membership development and initiatives aimed at encouraging more young girls to embrace engineering.
Oyekunle said the chapter planned to take engineering programmes back to schools to expose pupils to the profession early and build a sustainable pipeline of future engineers.
She noted that teachers could play a significant role in generating interest in engineering among young people because of their ability to influence pupils from an early stage.
Oyekunle said her administration would focus on projects that would build a lasting legacy, while strengthening industry partnerships and innovation.
She said the chapter was targeting at least three formal partnership agreements and two corporate sponsors for its flagship programmes.
According to her, the chapter also plans to move its SHEnovation initiative beyond competition by supporting innovations from prototype development to pilot and incubation stages.
She said APWEN Lagos supported 12 finalist teams and provided a N1 million prize pool under the initiative in the previous year.
The summit also featured discussions on engineering innovation, professional development, technology and the development of women engineers.
The event marked the inauguration of Oyekunle as the 11th Chairman of APWEN Lagos.