The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite has congratulated the body of mining engineers in the country under the aegis of Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG) on the induction of new 195 individual and 19 corporate members, saying the exercise positions the council towards becoming the foremost regulator in the Nigerian Extractive Industry.
The Minister while describing the induction as a momentous conjuncture in the journey of COMEG stated that the council has tailored its activities in line with the nation-building drive of President Muhammadu Buhari, assuring the federal government’s readiness to support the council in the actualization of its set goals and objectives.
The induction ceremony in Abuja last week which was the 12th in the series brings the total number of professionals registered by COMEG to 3386 individual and 225 corporate members.
“I still recount with nostalgia all the laudable achievements of this Council in the life of the present administration, most of which are in tandem with Mr. President’s aspirations toward building a prosperous nation. These achievements are highly commendable and I doff my hat to COMEG Council led by the Chairman, Dr. Godspower Okpoi, and COMEG Management led by the Registrar, Prof. Zacchaeus Opafunso,” the Minister said.
The Minister added that COMEG has over the years remained consistently a role model among agencies under his watch especially in its quest to ensure professionalism at all times and make relevant professional practices lawful.
“This singular objective led the Council towards re-introducing and re-energizing its Mandatory Professional Examination (MPE) in the year 2020 in line with Part IV Section 11 – (1) of the COMEG Act No. 40 of 1990 (now CAP C33LFN 2004),” he stressed.
The Council’s subsisting reviews on examination best practices brought about its first CBT-based (sit-in and online) examinations conducted in October and November, 2022 respectively, the Minister stated, adding that it has also culminated into the colorful induction ceremony.
In his remarks, Registrar and Chief Executive of COMEG, Prof. Zacchaeus Opafunso while congratulating the inductees charged them to live up to expectations of the Council by adhering strictly to the professional code of conduct in the practice of their profession.
Prof Opafunso while applauding the Minister for his support and cooperation attributed the huge success of the 12th induction ceremony to the effective policy framework put in place by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.
According to Prof. Opafunso, the recent approval of COMEG’s Professional Scale of Fees by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Ministerial introduction of the use of COMEG Digital Stamp to replace the old metallic seal are milestones that have strengthened the Council in its regulatory assignment.
He said the Council has in the past three years committed efforts towards enthroning a strong and virile COMEG in accordance with the relevant sections of the COMEG Act, as well as promoting and enshrining the sustenance of professionalism in the Nigerian Extractive industry.
152 candidates took part in the COMEG CBT-based MPE in October, 2022, held in Abuja, Akure, Jos and Port-Harcourt Examination Centers while 10 candidates participated in the Executive MPE in November, 2022 via online process.
Also, 28 candidates participated in the various Executive Oral Interviews of the Council that spanned January till end of November, 2022 while 5 candidates were considered under provisional membership due to their inability to participate in Council’s Executive Oral Interview formally.
