President Muhammadu Buhari, has assured that the Federal Government would henceforth allocate 0.5percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) to Research and Development(R&D) to fast-track meaningful development in Nigeria.
Buhari represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, revealed this recently in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Technology and Science EXPO.
Buhari said he had communicated with the National Economic Council(NEC) to come up with modalities in achieving this objective.
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He said: “We want to reiterate that having come to terms with the challenges of this critical sector of the economy, we will henceforth dedicate 0.5% of our GDP to R&D in order to fast track meaningful development.
“I would like to inform you that we have made effort in actualising this through our communication to the National Economic Council to come up with modalities in achieving this noble intention of government.”
The President, who underscored the indispensability of Science, Technology and Innovation(STI) to the socio-economic development of the country, said “It is a established fact that no nation of the world has been developed devoid of the ultilisation of the STI.”
He enumerated some initiatives introduced by his administration to fast-track the development of STI, saying that, “We demonstrated our love and desire to diversify our economy by the application of the STI, through improving the budgetary allocation of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, whose budget before was so meagre that it could not have achieved any meaningful economic development.”
According to him, “In our quest to develop scientifically, we placed a special premium on the STI sector for the utilisation of our local raw materials and personnel, and so I personally signed the Presidential Executive Order No. 5 for the Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts, Science, Engineering and Technology on 2nd February, 2018.
“This Order is an instrument that our Scientists, Engineers, and other Allied Professionals have been yearning for years to contribute effectively in the development of Nigeria.
“It is on record that this Order did not only strengthen and support scientists, it has strengthened other professions, and encouraged inter professional collaboration towards building the capacities of Nigerians and creating opportunities for all.
“In line with the provisions of the Order, I inaugurated the Presidential Monitoring and Evaluation Council (PMEC) on October 14, 2021 and have established six Technology and Innovation Centres of Excellence across the six geopolitical zones of the country, where dialogues were held with relevant stakeholders in 2022 to proffer solutions for the industrialization of the country, geared towards job creation and wealth generation in order to arrest youth restiveness and social vices in our dear country.
“As a matter of importance attached to the objectives of the Presidential Executive Order No.5, my Administration in November, 2022, approved the National Policy on Welding and Welding Related Fields as part of our efforts to fast-track industrialisation and sustainable development and this will arrest the present situation where many Nigerians outsourced welding jobs due to the emphasis placed on foreign welding certification.”
Buhari who congratulated the winners of this year’s 774 Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award (774-YONSPA), announced that the candidates who emerged first, second and third respectively in the final examination of the Competition have all been granted full scholarship up to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) level in any science-related discipline of their choice in any of the Nigerian universities.
In his address, Dr. Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said STI is the foundation and propelling force for industrial leadership of nations and business entities as well as put economic success on the global map.
He noted that countries that have made significant progress towards sustainable economic development, owe their success to significant investments in STI, which ensures uninterrupted increase in productivity and possibility of equitable and sustainable industrial development.
Mamora explained that the annual Science, Technology and Innovation Expo 2023 has become a gathering of Scientists, Researchers, Inventors, Innovators, Investors Entrepreneurs, and citizens of Nigeria, which provides the opportunity to set Nigeria on the path of economic greatness.
The theme for the Science, Technology and Innovation Expo 2023 is, ‘’Actualising Effective Diversification of the Nigerian Economy Through Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).”
