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THE ENGINEER
( Official e newsletter of The Nigerian Society of Engineers) Vol. 4. Issue 40 Friday 27th Jan. 10th Feb. 2012

Investiture of Engr. Shehu now holds on Sat. 11th Feb at the ICC, Abuja by 10am.

NSE POSITION ON THE REMOVAL OF FUEL SUBSIDY Preamble

I accept this responsibilityEngr. Shehu

I have accepted this enormous responsibility and I promise to discharge it to the best of my ability to move the NSE and engineering forward in Nigeria. With this words the new President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Mustafa Balarabe Shehu received the mantle of leadership from Engr. Olumuyiwa Alade Ajibola at a brief handover ceremony at the headquarters of the society. Clad in soft blue agbada with a cap to match, Engr. Shehu switched seats immediately after receiving the handover notes and expressed his happiness saying he was privileged and blessed to have the calibre of members at the handover ceremony. The roll call included the three Vice-Presidents , Engineers Otis Anyaeji, Ali Rabiu and Valerie Agberagba. Past President Engr. Kashim Ali, Executive Secretary, Engr Ahmed Amshi and Director, Professional Development , Engr Tunde Olatunji among other secretariat staff. The new President said the attendance demonstrated that he had very solid links with the past, present and future leaders of the soci-

The Nigerian Society of Engineers notes with great concern the on-going strike action led by the Nigerian Labour Congress over the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Even though we had submitted a position paper on this issue in December last year, we still find it expedient to re-echo our position in view of the prevailing circumstances the Country has found itself. After a careful study of the situation, and assessment of the facts involved, we observe as follows: 1. Open market petroleum products prices are mainly influenced by three factors;

i. ii.

the World market price of crude oil

per barrel the exchange rate of the Naira vis-

avis the US dollar; and the cost and location of production of the refined product.

ety. He thanked the Immediate Past President, (IPP), Engr. Ajibola for his handover notes which he described as very comprehensive and praised him more for what he called his encompassing leadership style. Engr. Shehu observed that the IPP had always carried him along in all his decisions and plans during his presidency. He therefore assured that the laudable programmes initiated by him, which of course he was part of, will be carried out to its logical conclusion. He said he had learnt a lot from

the past presidents will give him a similar privilege. On the content of the handover note, Engr. Shehu pointed out aspects that would be given immediate attention to include the Court case over the takeover of the Abuja NEC and the Kings college intrusion into the land at Lagos NEC; the need to intensify professional development activities and training; the need to raise the participation of the society in APBN to underscore its strength, among others. Earlier, Engr. Ajibola described Engr. Shehu as good choice

2. It is a fact that many Countries in the World institute various forms of subsidies in order to promote and improve levels of welfare of their citizenry. Subsidies are always present in some form in both developed and developing economies. For instance, the United Kingdom subsidizes health care, the United States subsidizes agriculture and food, whilst Jordan spends 20 percent of its annual budgets on subsidies. All in all, according to International Energy Associates, many countries including India, Bangladesh, Argentina, Russia, Malaysia, Egypt and Saudi-Arabia, regularly subsidize energy costs. In 2010, Nigeria at approx. $20 per capita, offered one of the lowest costs subsidies for energy costs in the World. In contrast, comparable figures for India and Bangladesh are $35 each, and Saudi Arabia, $1,600. 3. Our over-reliance on imported fuel products is largely responsible for the high cost of petroleum products, especially PMS in the Nigerian market today, thereby creating the need for subsidy, which ordinarily should not exist in our petroleum industry "lexicon. 4. Closely related to 3 above is the weak value of the National Currency in relation to the US dollar, which creates a negative impact on the economy as a whole. Our Position In line with above observations, the Nigerian Society of Engineers is of the opinion that: 1. Government should reconsider its decision on the removal of fuel subsidy until urgent steps are taken, which shall automatically cause the issue of fuel subsidy to become moot and of no interest to most people. Such urgent steps shall include but will not be limited to the following: Reactivation and prioritization of all existing refineries as well as construction of additional

Official post for a photograph after the handover his close association with and participation in three administrations at NSE,- that of Engr. Eze; Engr. Ali and Engr. Ajibola and would bring the experience to bear on his presidency. Engr. Shehu expressed delight that Engr. Ajibola had assured him of his support and his availability for consultation at any point in time and hoped that all made by the engineers for the presidency commending his contribution to his administration . He said he had looked forward to a day like this when he would handover and was happy it had come. Highlights of his handover note included the state of affairs of the society among others. Some of the highlights have been reproduced in this newsletter.

Highlights of handover note

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Professional Development Department is now well positioned to provide continuing Professional Development Programmes to equip our members with modern developments in the profession and best practices attainable anywhere in the world. Most of the Committees of the Professional Development Board are working hard, while others need to be reinvigoBefore

rectly to their specialized discip l i n e s. T h e r e is therefore the need to keep them on their toes so as to meet up with this dire need of professionalizing the Society. Continuing Education In order to meet up with our desire to continuously deepen and widen the intellectual base of members, there is the need to sustain the tempo of the already started Continuing Education Programmes. The courses already deAfter

ones to make up for the deficit on our daily demand. Dedication of some defined level ofcrude oil to all local refineries at agreed concessionary prices. Initiation and completion of emergency mass transit transportation systems in all major cities in the Country. Completion of all on-going power sector projects. Sincere fight against corruption. 2. In the short term, the cost of governance in Nigeria, which is reputed to be one of the highest and most wasteful in the World, should be revisited and severely pruned, in line with the need to conserve our wealth and resources for positive development.

rated to meet up with the challenges of our desire to bring up the Society to a world class standard. Divisions The Divisions are the engines of the professional growth of our Society. With well grounded and vibrant Divisions, the needed environment for professional excellence and discipline can be achieved. The Divisions are being re-awakened to become more proactive in responding to key national issues that relate diEDITOR: Ikenna Emeka Okpani Published by Media and Publications Department, Nigerian Society of Engineers Media@nseng.org . Branch and Divisional Chairmen should contact us on their activities for publication in the newsletter

signed are adequate enough and efforts must be made to execute them properly. The partnership with external training institutions had been quite advantageous to the Society, and therefore needs to be maintained. Engineering Practice and Resource Centre (EPRC) After a detailed and painstaking planning and consultations, and following Councils approval of its composition, I inaugurated the 17-member Board of the NSE Engineering Practice and Resource Centre/Continuous Professional Education EPRC/CPE in October this year. The Board has Engr. Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, FNSE, the immediate past Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, as Chairman supported by our Private Sector Partner, Dr. Diran Fawibe Managing Director of International Energy Services Ltd (IESL), as Vice Chairman.

3. Government should evolve a deliberate policy for the utilization of indigenous professionals for the development of the above mentioned infrastructure, as a way of building local capacities cost reduction and sustainability. 4. Government should identify means for the effective control products flow across our national boundaries. 5. NSE proposes that facts-based, transparent impact analysis (for effects on the populace) should always be carried out as a prelude to the initiation of any landmark or major economic or policy decision. In conclusion, history has it that courageous and great leaders are always willing to rescind on decisions they take that are later discovered to have negative or devastating consequences on their citizens. ENGR. MUSTAFA BALARABE SHEHU FNSE PRESIDENT

The NSE EPRC has concluded arrange-

ments to commence full operations, at the NSE Liaison Office in Lagos, while the Abuja Centre will operate at the NEC Abuja in the mean time, until renovation work is completed at the main site in Gwarinpa. The project is being carried out in partnership with private sector Oil and Gas Training Organization, IESL, to infuse Private Sector experience and management into the working of the Centre, so as to attain world class standard in its business delivery. The NSE Engineering Practice and Resource Centre will run courses leading to International Certifications, Basic Engineering & Design Studies (BEDS), Specialization and Management Studies (SAMS), as well as Oil & Gas Studies (OGAS) and Entrepreneurship amongst others. Specialists from our Divisions will drive this in collaboration with other Nigerians and International experts, e.g. Robert Gordon University of Aberdeen, UK. Already, this has commenced and we believe that with our MOU with PTDF in place the centers will be able to offer more industry specific courses to meet the training gaps of members. Our visit to Chevron Nigeria Ltd also confirmed Chevron Nigeria Ltds interest in supporting the programme, hence a valuable partner. This must be extended to other Oil majors (ExxonMobil, Total, Shell etc.) as well as other stakeholders e.g. Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government. The Board of EPRC/CPE will combine the running of the above programmes with the Structure Continuing Professional Education Programme of the Society, as approved by NSE Exco for different categories of members. The details of this programme are already with the Board, on which COREN is represented. It is expected that the programme shall begin officially in 2012, for NSE to

join the league of Professional Associations that track the Continuing Education of their members, as the basis of annual renewal of practice license.

The contract for the renovation of the Gwarimpa has already been awarded but the work was stalled due to development plan approvals. The EPRC, when fully operational will be a major source of revenue to the Society. NSE Technical Transactions This year witnessed a novel intervention and partnership with the Education Tax Fund, which resulted in the provision of funding and support for the publication of the Technical Transaction, to the tune N5m. This intervention has led to a Pre-packed Newlook Transaction Publication, Provision of office equipment and clerical staff, and the implementation of online journal portal for its wide accessibility.This partnership with ETF must be strengthened so that we get the maximum benefit out of it. Nigerian Codes and Standards Engr. Dr. O. Ajayis Codes and Standards Committee and the Divisions are working assiduously on the production of Nigerian Codes and Standards. This needs to be fully supported so as to achieve the desired goals soonest. MEMBERSHIP SEVICES Online Membership Management & Application Processing The Society is finalizing the testing and implementation of an electronic application to manage members data, administer membership services and support enrollment and application processing. Owing to the increasing enrollment and membership base, the old manual process has to give way to a modern, more efficient and accountable digital system. The features of the new application includes regular interaction with our

members via the NSE Website, emails and SMS, online Digital Membership Application and processing, Database management and other advanced services. This service shall become fully available from the first quarter of year 2012.

M em b e rs Scheme

G ro u p

I ns ura nc e

Council approved that this scheme is to commence by January 2012 upon payment of the premium by a good number of members. This scheme is of significant benefit to members and therefore needs to be pursued to its logical conclusion. Engineers Salary Scale A Committee has been set up by Exco to come up with a recommendation that would be presented to the Hon. Minister of Works on the Engineers Enhance Entry Point in the Civil Service. Try to see that the Committee concludes its assignment early to enable us see to the realization of this objective. Mass Housing Scheme for Engineers An application through AGIS has been processed for the NSE Mass Housing Scheme, while the guidelines and development Control materials have been procured from the FCDA. Proposals were received and forwarded to NSE Ventures to handle the scheme on behalf of the NSE. ( to be contd. in next issue)