Get Guardian on GoogleThe House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology has accused the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, of sabotaging President Bola Tinubu’s plan to establish a National Research and Innovation Development Fund.
The committee threatened to escalate the minister’s failure to attend a public hearing on the bill to the floor of the House, warning that his absence could delay its passage.
The bill, HB 2821, seeks to establish a dedicated fund for research and innovation, with provisions to attract grants from international development partners, donor agencies and Nigerians in the diaspora.
Lawmakers expressed displeasure that Udeh neither attended the hearing nor sent the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, despite its direct responsibility for the proposed legislation.
Speaking at the hearing, a committee member, Ahmed Usman Jaha, who represents Chibok, Damboa and Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno State, described the ministry’s absence as sabotage against cooperation between the executive and legislative arms of government.
Jaha, who spoke on behalf of the committee, questioned why a ministry responsible for an executive-sponsored bill of national importance would fail to participate in its consideration.
He said the proposed fund would provide a coordinated financing framework for research institutions and help Nigeria attract international grants for scientific and technological development.
“Unfortunately, some members of the executive are by extension sabotaging this relationship. The reason why I call it sabotage is that I see no reason whereby the executive can present a bill to the House for consideration but the ministry responsible for it will not show up,” he said.
Jaha disclosed that the committee invited the ministers of Justice, Innovation, Science and Technology, Education, Environment, Agriculture and Food Security, Health, Livestock Development, and Industry, Trade and Investment. However, none attended.
He said the committee considered Udeh’s absence particularly troubling because his ministry would play a central role in implementing the proposed fund.
Jaha also faulted the ministry for failing to attend when a representative of the African Technology Policy Studies Network travelled from Kenya to honour the committee’s invitation.
According to him, the representative informed lawmakers that several African countries had established national research and innovation funds, while Nigeria was yet to adopt a similar framework.
The lawmaker said the committee had given Udeh and the Permanent Secretary another opportunity to appear before the conclusion of the hearing.
He warned that their continued absence would compel the committee to raise a motion of urgent public importance at the next sitting of the House.
Earlier, the committee chairman, Zakariya Tijjani Zannah, called for sustainable financing, transparent governance and independent grant allocation for the proposed fund.
He said Nigeria had the intellectual capacity to drive innovation but lacked a dependable framework to finance research and translate discoveries into commercially viable products.
“Nigeria has the talent; what we lack is a dependable legal and institutional framework to fund, coordinate and carry research from the laboratory to the marketplace,” Zannah said.
He urged stakeholders to scrutinise the proposed 20 per cent contribution from the Nigerian Content Development Fund under Section 19, particularly its legality and financial sustainability.
Zannah also highlighted the proposed 2.5 per cent cap on administrative expenditure under Section 21 and the competitive grant allocation process in Section 34.
Declaring the hearing open, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, represented by the Deputy House Leader, Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, described the bill as critical to Nigeria’s economic development and global competitiveness.
He said Nigeria had considerable research talent but struggled to translate academic discoveries into practical solutions and industrial opportunities.
“The challenge, therefore, is not simply to produce more research, but to build an ecosystem that connects research to funding, innovation to investment, and discoveries to industry. This is the institutional gap that the Bill seeks to address,” Abbas said.
He said the proposed fund and National Council on Research and Innovation, to be chaired by the Vice-President, would coordinate national research priorities, provide sustainable financing and promote commercialisation.
Abbas insisted that grants must go to qualified applicants based on merit and scientific relevance, without political interference.
The Speaker further called for wider access to the fund, saying polytechnics, specialised research institutes, technology enterprises and independent innovators should benefit alongside universities.
Recalling previous legislative attempts that failed to establish a national research and innovation framework, Abbas urged the 10th National Assembly to resolve outstanding concerns and provide a sustainable funding structure.
He said Nigeria must reduce its dependence on imported solutions to challenges that local researchers and innovators could address.
“This is not merely a scientific imperative; it is a question of economic independence and national competitiveness,” he said.
