Our target is to free 100 million Nigerians from poverty trap ― FG

MINISTER of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has stated that the ministry would deploy Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) to actualize President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise of freeing 100 million Nigerians from the poverty trap.

He disclosed this while addressing Supervising Directors, Heads of Agencies and staff of the ministry in Abuja.

According to him, there is no way you can move Nigeria out of poverty without the inputs of science and technology. It is science, technology and innovation that will help us to create new technologies and those new technologies will now be the basis of the new status. That is to say, new enterprises and entrepreneurs will now grow by using those new technologies.

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He further explained that the smaller businesses created would grow from medium to large scale, thereby enhancing wealth creation, poverty alleviation, and improvement in Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

Dr Onu reiterated the ministry’s commitment to leverage on Federal Government’s first four years’ objectives to grow the economy, secure the nation, fight corruption and have a transparent government, saying the ministry would play a pivotal role to drive these objectives to ensure optimum contribution to the development of the country in areas of science, technology, and innovation.

The minister said for Nigeria to sustain its status as the largest economy in Africa, it needed to improve her productivity through science and technology.

“The difference between developed and developing countries is the application of science and technology. The developed countries applied science and technology to everything they do while the developing countries do not have sufficient application for science and technology.” He explained.