Nigerian govt confirms change in name of Ministry

The Federal Government has approved the change of name of Ministry of Science and Technology to Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

This was confirmed during a press briefing on Friday by Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, in Abuja.

He said the change of name was to facilitate economic growth and global competitiveness as well as to make Nigeria a nation of innovators.

The minister said that in 2017 the Federal Executive Council, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR 2017-2030).

“This was to use Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to catalyse Nigeria’s economic growth and competitiveness.

“This document laid out a core policy for driving positive socio-economic outcomes through science, technology, and innovation in all activities of the economy,’’ Onu said.

The minister said this had necessitated the ministry’s change of name to the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, as approved by the Presidency.

He noted that the new development would require the ministry to drive the Innovation Agenda by embarking on a branding campaign, in line with its expected mandate in ensuring productivity and economic growth.

Onu said that the change would help to meet the need of other sectors of the economy and all stakeholders by supporting the generation and application of knowledge to solve socio-economic challenges.

The Minister also noted that the approval of the change of name would be in the gazette to enable legal and policy frameworks to reflect institutional and organisational arrangements, effective coordination, among others.

According to him, the new development will help the ministry to bring a shift in Research and Development which is industry and service demand-driven, resulting in rapid commercialisation and improved global competitiveness.

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“We all know that there has been a missing link with the statutory responsibility of the ministry.

“This decision by the President will ensure that the missing link will be adequately addressed.

“Immediately we are able to commercialise Research and Development breakthroughs, the nation’s global competitiveness ranking will improve tremendously with varying degrees of development that are sustainable.

“These include a robust STI ecosystem that will accommodate continuous system improvement, product quality enhancement, and guaranteed standardisation of ‘Made-In-Nigeria’ goods and services,’’ he said.

By Mayowa Oladeji

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