Policy On Raw Materials Ranks Nigeria 115 In 140 Countries
TECHDIGEST- THE Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has said that the ministry’s effort, through a national strategy for competitiveness in raw materials, has led to the country’s ranking from 115 out of 140 countries by the World Economic Forum Assessment, 2018 to 2019.
He said this during the 27th quarterly meeting with management and staff of the ministry in Abuja.
The minister said that when he came on board, the ministry was in bad shape but this had been reversed through regular meetings with the management and staff.
He revealed that these meetings led to the creation of several policies among which five had been approved, while four were awaiting approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The minister also said that by 2019, the ministry won the Servicom award of Excellency and ranked best performing ministry in terms of service delivery.
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The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) by the presidential council under the chairmanship of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, was also awarded the best in terms of Transparency in Service Delivery in all MDAs.
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Onu also said that on January 31, the National Assembly met with 270 agencies and stakeholders out of which Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) was recognised as the best in terms of 100 per cent remittance of tax to the federation account.
Onu also said the effort by the Anambra State government in promoting local content in the area of indigenous technology; industrialisation was another added advantage of the Executive Order policy.
In the same veìn, Dr Onu said the absence of Presidential Executive Order 5, led to the decline of the petroleum refineries as Nigerian engineers were not involved in the construction and repair of the refineries in the first place.
Onu stated this in his speech at the sensitisation workshop of the staff of the ministry on the full implementation of the Presidential Executive Order 5 in Abuja.
He noted the Executive Order was a revolutionary one aimed at mandating procuring entities to give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts in line with the Public Procurement Act of 2007 as well as the engagement of Nigerian professionals in areas where their requisite expertise is available, among others.
He disclosed that the essence of the Executive Order 5 was to ensure that Nigeria acquired technologies that would help in positioning the nation towards self-sufficiency.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Monilola Udoh, said that every average Nigerian must be aware of the Executive Order 5 in terms of skills and resources.
She further added that relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) and stakeholders should take the sensitisation exercise serious in order to transfer the knowledge acquired during the course of the workshop.
