Science ministry’s 2021 budget to address youths’ demands – Onu
Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has said the ministry’s 2021 budget is centred on addressing the various demands of Nigerian youths, employment and wealth creation.
He spoke when he appeared for the budget defence session of the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology in Abuja yesterday.
The minister said some 2,500 research products had been in the marketplace through the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), adding that the agency had also groomed a good number of young Nigerian entrepreneurs in micro-level enterprises.
Onu further told the committee that policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration were tailored to promote to youths’ inclusiveness in scientific endevaours.
According to him, the National Science and Technology Road Map was to redirect the economy from dependence on raw materials to one driven by technology and innovation as centrepiece of all economic activities.
In a statement signed by Director of Press in the ministry, AbdulGaniyu Aminu, the minister highlighted the National Policy for Competitiveness in Raw Materials and Product Development formulated to promote economic self-reliance.
He explained that the document was also to enhance national capacity in a bid for Nigeria to produce globally acceptable raw materials, products and services, noting that the Presidential Executive Order 5 would enhance economic nationalism by giving preference to local firms in the award of contracts.
The new methanol fuel production technology, he added, would attract investment in the oil and gas sector, while also creating jobs for the teeming youth population.
Onu said 20 organisations have signified interest in partnering with the ministry on its implementation, stating that methanol “is a wonder chemical from which 1,000 products could be produced.”
Culled from t.guardian.ng
