Historical Background
The idea to form the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers was initiated by Engr. Olu Awoyinfa, FNSE, FAEng, a former Secretary General of NSE, and the move for the formation came into reality in July, 1992 when a handful of Engineers working and residing in Ikeja and its environs met to consider the formation of a second branch in Lagos State to cater for their professional and social needs.
Subsequently, an application was lodged with the Secretariat of the NSE the same year, and on the 31st of January, 1993, Ikeja Branch was admitted as the 32nd Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
The first Chairman of the Branch was the then Managing Director of Guinness Plc. Engr. Raphael Adeola Alabi, FNSE. From the inception, the Branch held its meetings at the old office of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) at Alausa, Ikeja; and as membership grew, it moved to the Conference Room of the Ministry of the Environment and Physical Planning (MEPP). It had to move to another location, the Conference Hall of the West African Portland Cement, Courtesy of Engr. Joe Makoju, the former Managing Director of WAPCO and now a Director at Dangote Group, when it became obvious that the former could not accommodate over 200 members who had then registered with the Branch.
Today, the membership to the branch has grown in leaps and bounds so much that as many as 2,500 Engineers are on the Attendance Register and not less than 150 Engineers attend our monthly meetings. Consequently, the Branch now has its own Secretariat Complex located at Oba-Ogunji Road, beside Forte Oil Filling Station, Via Pen-Cinema, Ogba-Agege, Lagos.
Being a vibrant Branch and always willing to take up challenges, the Branch has recorded some successes since inception. Take for instance, the International Engineering Conference hosted by us in 1997 tagged Ikeja’97 has been the bench mark by which other conferences have been adjudged for its relentless effort and innovative programmes. The Branch had received the Presidential Award every year since 1997.
NSE Ikeja Branch repeatedly won the prestigious Branch Group Dynamic Trophy for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2018. Currently, the Branch is still working out strategies to achieve more feat in the coming year.
We have no doubt in our minds that with prayer and support from our well-wishers, the Branch will wax stronger and stronger in years to come.
