FG to deploy science and technology in poverty alleviation — Minister

Science and Technology Minister, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that the National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy was designed to fight poverty through job and wealth creation. The Minister stated this on Wednesday at a lecture he delivered to Senior Executive Course No. 42 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos. He was speaking on the role of science, technology and innovation in national development.

In the virtual Lecture which he delivered from Abuja, the Minister told the participants that the National STI Policy which came into being in 1986 was last reviewed in 2012, but that the Ministry under his watch, has revived the dormant policy and constituted the National Research and Innovation Council with the President, Muhammadu Buhari as the Chairman, to drive the policy with the sole aim of creating jobs and battling poverty.

He identified other policy instruments that have been put in place to ensure the effective utilisation of science, technology and innovation in national development. They include the National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR), 2017-2030; National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw Materials and Product Development in Nigeria; Presidential Executive Order No. 5 for Planning and Execution of Projects; Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts, Science, Engineering and Technology; National Leather and Leather Products Policy; and National Fuel Products Technology.

According to Dr. Onu, all these initiatives have been approved by the Federal Executive Council. These policies, he noted, are being deployed to help create jobs and move millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

The Course Participants and management team were led to the lecture by the Director General of the NIPSS, Prof. Habu Galadima.