The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has honoured Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State with its Presidential Merit Award, in recognition of his infrastructural and engineering-driven development strides in the state.
The National President of the NSE, Engr. Ali Rabiu, disclosed the award when he led members of the Committee on a courtesy visit to Governor Sule at the Government House, Lafia, on Thursday.
The visit came at the end of the body’s routine National Executive Committee meeting held in the state.
Engr. Rabiu said the award followed a two-day inspection tour by the NSE team of landmark projects executed by the Governor Sule administration, including the Mararaba twin flyovers, the Diamond New Energy lithium plant in Endo, the Keffi flyover, the Faculty of Engineering at Nasarawa State University Keffi, the Akwanga bypass and underpass, the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute, and the Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic, among other sites.
“One thing that was revealed to us by the visitation was the substantial and commendable investments by the Nasarawa State Government with engineering, technical education and human capital development positioned as key drivers of economic transformation,” Engr. Rabiu said.
He noted that the Mararaba and Keffi flyovers were progressing satisfactorily at about 50 and 70 percent completion respectively, with generally good construction standards.
On the Diamond New Energy lithium plant, the NSE President said the facility, with a reported processing capacity of about 6,000 tons a day and over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, represented an important step toward local mineral processing and value addition, while stressing the need for environmental monitoring, responsible mining and land reclamation.
Engr. Rabiu commended the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Technology Institute for training about 10,000 beneficiaries in various trades, describing its workshop equipment as superior to what his team, which has inspected engineering faculties across 12 Nigerian universities under a separate federal intervention programme, had seen elsewhere.
He also commended the Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic for securing NBTE accreditation for 11 new engineering programmes, while recommending improved road access within its campus.
On the Faculty of Engineering at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, the NSE team noted a shortage of equipment, academic staff, reliable power and internet connectivity ahead of professional accreditation, and urged the university to prioritise COREN accreditation to ensure its graduates are eligible to practise engineering in Nigeria.
The NSE President said the visitation confirmed that Nasarawa State was implementing wide-ranging interventions in infrastructure, mineral processing, engineering education and vocational training, but observed that many of the administration’s achievements had not received adequate public visibility.
“We therefore recommend that the state government should establish a professional development and documentation framework to systematically record, communicate and preserve information on government projects and their impacts,” he said,
He also affirmed the NSE’s willingness to deepen its partnership with the state through professional and technical support.
Engr. Rabiu also appealed to the Governor to expedite the release of the Certificate of Occupancy for land earlier donated to the NSE Lafia branch, and to consider providing a vehicle to facilitate the branch’s project supervision activities across the state.
He extended an invitation to Governor Sule to the NSE’s 2026 engineering conference in Maiduguri, scheduled for November 30 to December 4, where the Presidential Merit Award will be formally presented.
Responding, Governor Sule thanked the NSE for selecting Nasarawa State to host its Executive Committee meeting and for the recognition, describing the award as one he held in especially high regard given his own background as an engineer.
“I have received several awards, including some that I value very, very highly. But I truly, truly value an NSE golden award. That’s an award that means a lot to me,” the Governor said, pledging to attend the opening of the Maiduguri conference in November.
Governor Sule used the occasion to speak on his personal history in technical and vocational training, recalling his background as a certified welding technician and CNC machinist before becoming an engineer, which he said informed his investment in the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational Institute and his ambition to replicate the standard of the old Government Technical College, Bukuru, in Lafia.
He also disclosed that his administration was constructing a specialist hospital with a trauma centre in Akwanga, describing it as a legacy project built “from ground zero,” and gave assurances that outstanding requests from the NSE Lafia branch, including the Certificate of Occupancy and a vehicle for project supervision, would receive attention from relevant commissioners.
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