President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has approved the renaming of the Ministry of Science and Technology as the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Ogbonnaya Onu stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.
According to Onu, the Federal Executive Council approved the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR 2017-2030) in 2017, which aims to boost the country’s economic growth and worldwide competitiveness by transforming it into an innovator nation.
He remarked, “This document lay out a key policy for generating beneficial socio-economic results through science, technology, and innovation in all economic activities.”
He explained that this necessitated a name change for the ministry, and that the new development would necessitate the ministry driving the Innovation Agenda by launching a branding campaign based on its intended mandate of ensuring productivity and economic growth.
The Minister stated that the shift would aid in the introduction of an industry and service demand-driven approach to R&D, resulting in faster commercialization and greater global competitiveness.
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“We are all aware that there has been a gap in the ministry’s statutory responsibilities. The President’s action will ensure that the missing link is properly addressed,” he said.
He predicted that Nigeria would see long-term indigenous industrialization with a sufficient basis for increased productivity.
“As soon as we are able to commercialize R&D discoveries, the nation’s worldwide competitiveness ranking will increase dramatically, with varied degrees of sustainable development.
“These include a strong STI ecosystem that would allow for ongoing system development, product quality enhancement, and guaranteed standardization of ‘Made-In-Nigeria’ goods and services,” he said.
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation was established in 1980 to promote the development of science, technology, and innovation while also accelerating Nigeria’s socioeconomic development.
The Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT), the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis and Onchocerciasis (NITR), the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), the National Centre For Technology Management (NACETEM), and the National Office For Technology (NOT) are among the seventeen agencies under the ministry (RMRDC).
Other institutions include the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBBRI), the National Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST), the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), the Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO), the Project Development Institute (PRODA), and the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO) (NASENI).
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