Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, disclosed this at the weekend in Kaduna, while addressing participants at the North-West sensitisation programme on National Science, Technology and Innovation Road Map (NSTIR) and the Executive Order 5.
The ministry, according to him, is working tirelessly to ensure that Nigeria become a knowledge-based economy by the year 2030 in line with the provisions of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 of the Federal Government.
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He said that the road map was crafted with a view to having a long-time lifespan take the country to the promised land.
Dr Onu further said that the Executive Order 5 would go a long way in promoting both local and foreign investments in the country, as well as create employment, while also stimulating the nation’s economy.
“The Order will also guarantee home- grown capability and capacity to maintain, redesign, reinforce, domesticate and duplicate any infrastructure that is built in Nigeria for self–reliance and development,” he added.
The minister said with this, Nigerian innovators and investors in Diaspora would be encouraged to come home, adding that the era of brain drain was over.
Earlier in his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. BitrusBakoNabasu, said that the Executive Order 5 was a foundation for a knowledge–based economic revolution that would eventually entrench Science, Technology Innovation (STI) in everyday life, which was key to achieving the nation’s development goals across all sectors of the economy.
He also charged staff of agencies from the North-West geo-political zone to apprise their staff based on the content of the National Science Innovation Road Map (NSTIR) 2017-2030, that through this approach, other staff of the Ministry and Agencies would become ambassadors in acquainting the citizenry on the Road–Map.
In his opening remarks, the Director of Science, Technology and Promotion, Dr Ekanem Udoh, said that the National Science Innovation Road Map 2017-2030 was a step–by–step framework designed to approach and ensure rapid acceleration of growth and development of a knowledge driven economy.
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