By Emmanuel Elebeke

The Federal Government has said that it would partner with the Royal Academy of Engineering of the United Kingdom to build engineering capacity in Nigeria by supporting engineering education for national development.

The agreement was reached when a team from the Academy from UK accompanied by the President of Nigeria Academy of Engineering, Joan Maduka paid the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu a courtesy call in  Abuja recently.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said the ministry will support collaborations that will ensure building local engineering capacity in Nigeria to provide the expected manpower for the much sought after industrialization of the country.

President Buhari

Earlier, the programme manager of Royal Academy of Engineering, Louise Olofsson said that the aim of the Academy is to ensure there is sufficient and appropriately skilled, local engineering capacity to participate in and drive national and regional development in sub-Saharan Africa.

The President of the Nigeria Academy of Engineering, Engr. Maduka for her part expressed the appreciation of the Academy to the Minister for the grants given to the Academy towards the production of the Engineering Academic Journal, which according to her has not been produced for a long time.

She said as a credible and important platform for the engineering profession, the support from the ministry will be judiciously utilized in line with expectations attached to the grant in promoting academic excellence in the country.

She noted that the three engineering bodies in Nigeria are expected to make submissions to the Royal Academy of Engineering in area of interest that strengthens engineering education in Nigeria.