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Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, emphasized the indispensable role of engineers in driving the country’s growth and development. He echoed this sentiment in Abuja on Tuesday, during the commencement of the 2023 National Conference, Exhibition, and Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Society of Engineers.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Tinubu, underscored the global respect and commitment to excellence displayed by Nigerian engineers. He stated, “Nigerian Engineers have carved a distinguished niche for themselves through their unwavering commitment to excellence and quality representation. The Nigeria Society of Engineers commands respect not only nationally, but also on the global stage.”

President Tinubu highlighted the pivotal contributions of the engineering profession to national growth and development. He emphasized the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Re-engineering the manufacturing sector for competitiveness and enhanced economic growth and innovation,’ as especially fitting for Nigeria’s need to assert its position in global engineering, manufacturing, and innovation.

Government Focus

President Tinubu reaffirmed the government’s focus on job creation, combating hunger, and addressing corruption, aiming to unleash the country’s full economic potential. He stated, “The Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration is defined by our commitment to unleashing our country’s full economic potentials by focusing on job creation, access to capital for small and large businesses, inclusiveness, Rule of Law and the fight against hunger, poverty and corruption.”

The President challenged the notion that Nigeria’s large population is an obstacle to its economic development, asserting that the nation has the potential to become a trillion-dollar economy within the next decade. He emphasized the importance of harnessing the demographic dividend and the vast market within Nigeria for manufactured goods, calling for engineers to play a pivotal role in this transformation.

Collaboration

President Tinubu advocated for collaboration between the government and engineers at all levels to maximize the country’s potential. He vowed to create an enabling environment for engineers to thrive in their profession.

He expressed, “You have a huge responsibility before you, to work with the government and with all the stakeholders so that we can jointly chart a path to true and lasting prosperity for Nigeria. Our administration requires your support to harness the immense opportunities in front of us and to turn the promise of Renewed Hope into reality for the generality of our people.”

Revenue and Taxation

The President reiterated the government’s commitment to augmenting revenue while reducing the burden on citizens and businesses by rationalizing the tax system. He assured, “Our goal is to increase Nigeria’s tax revenues while also reducing the burden on individuals and businesses. By streamlining the number of taxes, introducing greater efficiency and plugging leakages, we can and will deliver less burdensome tax regimes to businesses and employers of labour.”

Furthermore, he highlighted the provision of seed financing to state governments to support the development of transformative infrastructure across the country. The opening ceremony of the conference saw the decoration of the President’s representative and other dignitaries with various honours by the Nigeria Society of Engineers.