NACETEM urges increased funding of R&D institutes

Director-General, National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), Dr Olusola Odusanya, has called on the Federal Government to increase funding for research and development institutes in the country.

Odusanya said considering the critical role researches play in exploring new knowledge and improving on existing scenarios towards enhancing development, adequate funds ought to be channelled to research.

He spoke, yesterday, in Abuja at a workshop on national research and development survey and Government Budgetary Allocation to Research and Development (GBARD).

With the theme, ‘Dissemination Workshop on Navigating Research and Development Frontiers: A National Workshop on Emerging Indicators’, the programme drew policymakers, industrialists, science, technology and innovation experts, academics from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as international agencies and the private sector.

According to Odusanya, the expected outcome of the survey will form Nigeria’s input in international databases and national planning, as well as improvement on the country’s global competitiveness in the field of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

The DG expressed the agency’s commitment to infuse new knowledge into the economy by carrying ground-breaking research to improve the economy. He said: “Part of what we want to do is to share some of the information that NACETEM has been charged to collect over the years; and that is data on the national development indices. In every microcosm of our environment, we need data, which helps to bring clarity to a number of issues.

“NACETEM will continue to work to infuse new knowledge into the economy, so that we have an economy that is driven by knowledge. In all sectors of our economy, we need new knowledge: in transport, marine, agriculture, mining, aviation. Our institutions that provide training are not sufficient to give us the knowledge that is going to drive Nigeria’s economy. So, all hands must be on deck to ensure that new knowledge comes into this economy, and new knowledge drives new development that will create new job genres that do not exist. The time for that is now and your input is very important,”

In his intervention, the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, said the development and transitioning of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards are integral to its mission of enhancing the quality of teaching, learning and research in Nigerian universities.

Head of research departments from the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) among others attended the workshop.