Engineering Firm Seeks Govt Patronage Of Indigenous Companies

A Nigerian electrical engineering construction company, NEWS Engineering Nigeria Limited, has urged all tiers of government to strengthen support for indigenous companies through consistent patronage, describing it as a critical lever for sustaining local industries.

The Managing Director/CEO of NEWS Engineering, Josephine Nwaeze stated this at the company’s annual technical board meeting in Abuja.

According to her, government’s patronage of local or indigenous companies through awards of contracts would made them self sustainable and capable of adding value the society.

Nwaeze acknowledged NEWS Engineering’s historic contributions to Nigeria’s power sector, including the construction of several major transmission line projects more than four decades ago.

Highlighting NEWS Engineering’s evolution from a modest domestic enterprise in 1983 to a leading national powerhouse, she emphasised that the competence and technical capacity the nation seeks abroad already exist within Nigeria.

“The first transmission line project from Gombe to Damaturu was executed by NEWS Engineering over 20 years ago. It is difficult to find a company with such an extensive and verifiable footprint,” she said.

Nwaeze further highlighted NEWS Engineering’s pivotal role in developing substations across the country—including the Akwa and Kukwaba substations—as well as its leadership in renewable energy solutions.

She noted that the company constructed the Federal Ministry of Power’s first pilot mini-grid project about a decade ago in Torankawa, Sokoto, a 60-kilowatt installation that remains fully operational.

Nwaeze said the company’s project portfolio speaks for itself, with successful engagements with the World Bank, African Development Bank, and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, among others.

“We are a major stakeholder in the power sector. We stand tall with a legacy, a niche, and a robust record of excellence that remains difficult to contest. For a company that has operated for 42 years and continues to be a major employer of labour, increased patronage is essential.

“As a woman leading in a male-dominated profession, I also believe encouragement and recognition are important,”she said, reaffirming NEWS Engineering’s readiness to continue delivering high-quality engineering solutions that align with national development goals.