President Muhammadu Buhari has charged the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to embrace global practices that would place it among the best think tanks policy institutes in the world.
The president gave the charge during the graduation ceremony of the Senior Executive Course No. 44, 2022, at NIPSS, Kuru, Plateau State.
He commended the National Institute for the role it has been playing over the years in policy formulation, adding that he was more impressed with the consistency that NIPSS stands for and its passion towards addressing some of the nation’s issues.
The President, who was represented by the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, said he was delighted to be at the ceremony because of the historic role the national policy think tank has playing in people’s lives.
“This is an integral aspect of the dreams of the founding fathers of the Institute. It is also an assignment in which the Institute has never failed, no matter the challenges, not even in the era of COVID-19.
“While I congratulate the Institute for being resiliently consistent, I also wish to remind the Institute of the other aspects of your mandate, which is to evolve ideas, new techniques, skills, policies, and new directions to guide policy making at the highest level.
“In other words, you need to follow the global dynamics in policy and guide the nation on the application of global best practices.”
“I use the opportunity offered by this special occasion to challenge the National Institute to strive to be at par with or even surpass the best think tank amongst policy institutes in the world.” “We will do our best to support you in fulfilling this charge and other mandates,” he said.
The President, who described NIPSS as a strong and dependable ally of the government, added that NIPSS’ effort at engaging the best brains on critical national issues hasn’t gone unnoticed, just as its submissions on the issues have also proved to be very useful in resolving many issues.
“Your submissions on course themes every year have either evolved a new policy addressing a major national issue or resulted in a review of existing policies to accommodate current realities.”
“We look forward to your efforts in determining solutions to several issues as well as your recommendations in charting specific paths to achieving these solutions. “I urge you to come up with more innovations, be more committed, and remain focused on your mission of building a better society,” he said.
The President also advised graduands to maintain the level of seriousness with which they handled the course themes, as they are of great importance to the government.
“To the graduands, the activities and your experiences throughout the duration of the course must have impacted you positively.”
“I am delighted to know that you are leaving the National Institute with a better understanding of our great country and better knowledge of issues and problem-solving skills to enable you to take on more responsibilities and perform optimally at your duty posts in the interest of our nation.
The President assured that the findings and recommendations contained in the report of Section 44 will be promptly attended to and applied by the government and those to come for the good of the country.
The Minister later commissioned, on behalf of the President, the nursery/primary school and e-learning center donated by the graduands to the children of the NIPSS staff and the Kuru community, as well as a weather center established by the graduands in collaboration with the NIMET.
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