PRESS STATEMENT
Presidential Panel To Monitor and Standardize NASENI Technologies and Innovations Inaugurated in Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari ‘s deliberate attempts to diversify the Nigeria economy through technologies and innovations strategy received a boost today in Abuja as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Mr.Boss Mustapha inaugurated a 45-Man panel to monitor the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI)’s technologies and inventions.
The 45-man panel are to work as technical Board of Directors across the nine(9) research & development institutes of the Agency.
The panel of eminent Engineers and professionals were tasked by the President to evaluate all technologies and innovations coming out from NASENI’s research institutes, to make make them conform to best global standards, to make them ready for commercialization and to industrialize the Nigerian economy.
The President through the SGF said the need to diversify the economy was a deliberate action by his administration and hence the current massive investments in science, technology, innovations and products that could boost productivity in the nation’s economy just as obtainable in other countries like Japan, China, Europe and America.
Such efforts had led those countries to become first class in terms of world economic growth and development.
It would be recalled that President Buhari, having realized that NASENI had all it takes to diversify the economy, through its technologies and innovations, recently reviewed NASENI’s statutory funds and mandated that all the Agency’s statutory funding mechanisms be released to the Agency to enable it achieve its mandate of providing capital goods, research and development activities to transform the economy using science, technology and innovations.
Speaking at the Inauguration of the panels called Technical Board of Directors for NASENI Institutes today in Abuja, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha said the panel would kick-start the effective and efficient implementations of projects of NASENI and the tasks of the technical board include enabling the Federal government to monitor the deliverables from the Agency in order to make it more responsive to meet the developmental and socio-economic needs and objectives of the country.
Commending the Management of NASENI Dr. Maurice Nnamdi Mbaneri who represented the SGF said the efforts of the Agency so far had been remarkable. The SGF said the Agency has continued to prove its capabilities and commitment to the progress of the nation’s development and sustainable growth through its diversified Science and Engineering interventions across many sectors of the economy.
He said,” Mr. President has approved the composition of these Technical Panels for deployment and application of appropriate science and engineering technologies because this sector is the obvious solution to the myriads of our socio-economic problems in Nigeria.”
While commending the Technical Board of Directors for the institutes, he said that their appointments were based on merit and their years of pedigrees as seasoned researchers and practicing engineers and scientists.
Mr. Boss Mustapha admonished the board to bring their years of dedication and valuable contributions to the nation’s institutions on board as they steer the Institutes’ technology prowess in the right directions.
“It must be stressed that this board is not an administrative board but a technical committee and as the name implies, the functions are clearly spelt out; which is to supervise the technical operations of the institutes within their specific mandates. “from the composition of the board, I have every confidence that you will all participate in leading the way to new grounds for this nation, in a very professional manner”, he stated.
In his welcome address, the Executive Vice Chairman, Chief Executive of NASENI, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, said that the setting up of the Boards which was recently approved by Mr. President was not only in line with the Establishment Act of the Agency, but also the implementation of the recommendation of inter-ministerial Ad-hoc Committee of the NASENI Governing Board.
While appreciating President Buhari for repositioning the Agency in line with the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers, Prof. Haruna noted that since the establishment of NASENI, about 30 years ago, it is this administration that has demonstrated sufficient political will by approving full implementation of the Agency’s mandate which include, strategic policy objectives, institutional structures; funding and financial implementation”.
He said with the inauguration of these technical boards, Mr. President, who doubles as the Chairman of NASENI Governing Board, has fulfilled his promises of repositioning the Agency to deliver globally competitive products and services, adding that “this is in line with the administrative economic diversification programme and commitment to transit the country from a consumer to a manufacturing economy”.
SIGNED:
Olusegun Ayeoyenikan
Deputy Director, Information
NASENI