Infrastructure Deficit Stalling Nigeria’s Growth – ACEN President

Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit remains a major obstacle to economic growth and global competitiveness, the 21st President of the Association for Consulting Engineers of Nigeria (ACEN), Kunle Adebajo, has said.

Speaking at his investiture in Lagos, Adebajo described the country’s infrastructure gap as a formidable barrier to national development, stressing that consulting engineers must reposition themselves as strategic partners in bridging the divide.

He noted that development across infrastructure, healthcare, energy, and technology depends on the deliberate application of engineering principles to transform ideas into practical solutions.

According to him, roads, power systems, water supply, digital networks, and industrial processes are engineered outcomes that directly improve productivity, connectivity, and quality of life.

“Roads, power systems, water supply, digital networks, and industrial processes are engineered outcomes that improve productivity, connectivity, and quality of life. Conversely, engineering is development because it enables economic growth, social inclusion, and sustainable progress. Where engineering is thoughtful, ethical, and people-centred, development is not accidental, it is designed, built, and sustained”, he said.

He lamented that the nation is standing at a crossroad despite recent progress as millions still lack access to reliable electricity, safe water, efficient transportation, and resilient public works, adding that the scale of the challenge demands not just investment, but innovation, integrity, and collaboration.

He called for consistent focus on thinking beyond immediate challenges by advocating for infrastructure and policies that serve generations to come.

The ACEN president advised policy makers on the need to partner with Consulting Engineers as their expertise, according to him, are at the heart of the current transformation and also indispensable in bridging the infrastructure gap while ensuring that projects meet global standards of safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

He maintained that ACEN will continue in its major role of shaping public policy, influencing regulation, and advocating for the interests of the profession and society at large.

“Our priority is to position consulting engineers as indispensable partners in Nigeria’s development journey and this means moving beyond the role of technical service providers to becoming trusted advisors, policy influencers, and champions of sustainable progress”, he said.

Also speaking, Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Eng,Noimot Salako-Oyedele, the Special Guest observed that the consulting engineering profession sits at a critical intersection in our national development.

According to her, it’s not merely about drawings and designs but about shaping the physical backbone of our economy.

“Consulting engineers increase career-based balance, project governance, cost-to-discipline, safety compliance, and long-term asset performance. The advice they give determines whether infrastructure stands the test of time or becomes the burden on future generations. The profession must continue to insist on competence over due process and a life-cycle value over short-term savings”.

The Guest Speaker, Mr. Bambo Adebowale, said engineering does not operate in isolation but at the intersection of enterprise, policy, capital and national development.

He lamented that millions of Naira has been lost to projects not because of lack of merit and expertise, but because expertise is sometimes converted to hate, or purged to misery. He noted that most capable engineers are rarely the most vocal and called on policy makers to ensure that professionalism and ethics are deployed in terms of project implementation and execution.

The immediate past president of ACEN, Eng. Kam-Selem Bukar, urged the new president to work on expanding the capacity of members while deepening the professional development programme. He also canvassed the deepening of stakeholder’s engagement to ensure the association is pivotal in the national affairs.

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