President Muhammadu Buhari has granted approval for the renaming of the Ministry of Science and Technology, to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, made announcement of the change at a media briefing in Abuja, on Friday.
Onu pointed out that in 2017, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave approval for the National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR 2017-2030), which he said is “to use science, technology and innovation (STI) to catalyze Nigeria’s economic growth and competitiveness”.
“This document laid out a core policy for driving positive socio-economic outcomes through science, technology and innovation in all activities of the economy,” NAN quoted Onu as saying.
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He noted that the FEC’s approval of the roadmap prompted the change of name of the ministry as consented by the presidency, he further stated that the new development will require an innovation agenda through a branding campaign, consistent with its expected mandate in ensuring productivity and economic growth.
The Minister who further stated that the renaming of the Ministry will encourage the creation and deployment of knowledge to address socio-economic challenges, said it will also help to enable legal and policy frameworks to reflect institutional and organizational arrangements and effective coordination.
While noting that “there has been a missing link with the statutory responsibility of the ministry”, the Minister also stated that Buhari’s decision will ensure that what is lacking is adequately addressed.
“Immediately we are able to commercialize research and development breakthroughs, the nation’s global competitiveness ranking will improve tremendously with varying degrees of development that are sustainable,” he added.
“These include a robust STI ecosystem that will accommodate continuous system improvement, product quality enhancement and guaranteed standardisation of ‘made-in-Nigeria’ goods and services.”
Onu also stated that the country will record indigenous industrialization with adequate platform for greater productivity, and gave the assurance that the buhari administration will ensure improvement in value-added components of the economy.
