The Director General National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim, has described the Executive Order No.5 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 as a revolution.
He said the Order which seeks to give preference to Nigerian professionals in the execution of contracts and projects in science, engineering and technology will gradually develop the capacity of Nigerians.
Dr. Ibrahim made this assertion when he paid a courtesy visit to the President Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Surv Akinloye Oyegbola at the association’s headquarters recently in Lagos.
“I call it a revolution because priority is now to be given Nigerian professionals in the award of contracts and projects even if they are competing with a foreigner. As long as the Nigerian is qualified, he will have an edge over the foreigner. It is a revolution that you don’t need to carry a gun but gradually develop the capacity of Nigerians and reduce the shackles of dependence on foreigners”, he stated.
According to a press release issued by the head, Public Relations and Protocol of NOTAP, Mr. Solomon D. Nshem, the DG’s visit to APBN was to inform the association about the Order, which is intended to involve Nigerian professionals in the planning and execution of contracts that were hitherto handled by foreigners and solicited the cooperation of the association in developing a robust database for Nigerian professionals.
He said the association was in a vantage position to encourage members to visit NOTAP website to register or provide the agency with details of professionals in Nigeria, to enable the office develop a robust database that will assist government in reducing the dependence on foreigners in the execution of contracts and projects.
Dr. Ibrahim disclosed that NOTAP has developed forms on its website for Nigerian Professionals to fill and register and has started the registration process with professional bodies like the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) and Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS). He added that NOTAP is developing the database on sectoral basis in order to have a comprehensive database of Nigerian professionals.
