The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji has called on the private sector to support Research and Development (R&D), saying it would address issues of wealth and job creation.
The minister stated this during the commissioning of the 7th National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC Upgraded Chemistry Laboratory at the Federal University of Technology (FUTA) Akure, Ondo State, recently.
Nnaji, who was represented by NOTAP DG, Dr Barr. Obiageli Amadiobi, said the initiative is aimed at strengthening technology acquisition and research in the country.
“NOTAP monitoring exercise as a regulator of technology transfer, has observed many inadequacies and disconnect between industries and the National Innovation System (NIS), which has led to lack of confidence in our graduates and their research capability by the industries which resulted in the absence of any indigenous Research and Development (R&D) results being used in any of the numerous industries in Nigeria.”
Nnaji noted that in order to address the identified weaknesses, NOTAP came up with the NOTAP-Industry Partnership Initiative with a number of schemes in 2009, adding that it is meant to complement the ministry’s effort in strengthening linkages with industry and provision of infrastructure.
The minister stressed that the research laboratory upgrade, as one of the schemes aimed at providing state-of-the art equipment to universities and research institutes for sound research infrastructure to produce reliable and viable R&D results.
The Minister commended PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc for being a strategic partner to NOTAP in the project by upgrading 5 laboratories in Modibo Adama University of Technology Yola, National Research Institute for Chemical Technology Zaria, University of Calabar, Alex Ekwueme University of Technology Ndufu-Alike Ebonyi and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi which were all commissioned.
He said the project is a result of the strategic partnership between NOTAP and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc adding that PZ Cussons recently upgraded additional 5 laboratories at N100 million each and FUTA is one of the beneficiaries and the first institution to benefit in the South West geopolitical zone of the country.
In her remarks, Dr. Amadiobi who was represented by the Director Consultancy Services department of NOTAP Mrs. Yejide Akinkunmi decried the fact that as a result of the weak research infrastructure in our knowledge establishments over 90 percent of the technologies that power the Nigerian economy in almost all sectors was foreign. This she said calls for an urgent need to upgrade our research laboratories to enhance our capacity to chunk out commercializable R&D results.
In his speech, the Chief Executive Officer PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc Mr. Dimitris Kostianis represented by the Director Supply Chain of the company Engr. Ifeanyichukwu Abadom, said that PZ has been an active player in the Nigerian society for many decades.
He added that over the years the company partnered with NOTAP to deliver on their mission of acquisition and promotion of technology and their pursuit for domestication of foreign technology.