From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the the appointment of members of the Governing Boards and Council of 12 agencies and institutions under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu said that the Ministry is focused on building a Ministry that is recognised as the best in Africa and at par with the best in the world.

Dr. Onu while speaking at the inauguration of governing boards and council of agencies/institutes on Thursday in Abuja, said it will enable them to make adequate contributions to the development of the country.

The Minister added that value addition will continue to be a goal of the Federal Government in reshaping and repositioning Nigeria as a technologically advanced nation.

Dr. Onu emphasised the need for strengthening national institutions due to the current situation of Nigeria’s institutions being ranked among the weakest in the World by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

He further said that the policies that will be developed through programmes, projects and activities must impact positively on the agencies respective mandates.

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He said “Using the enormous power of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), our focus will be on the development of abundant natural resources as well as the orderly exploitation of huge potentials of our people and business.

“The FMSTI will continue to pursue value addition as our goal. My focus is to build a World Class Federal Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation ( FMSTI) that would be the best in Africa and comparable with the best in the world. We must work as a team, so as to achieve this notable goal.

The Minister of State for Science Technology and Innovation, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi, in his remarks said that the newly appointed board members will aid the innovation agenda of the Ministry.

He called on the board members of the agencies, to support the various policies put in place by the government to uplift a hundred million Nigerians out of poverty, adding that the STI policies will aid in transforming the country from resource to knowledge base economy.

The Minister also urged the board and council members to acquaint themselves with the provision of all the existing operational policies of the ministry and other government policies guiding the conduct and functions of the officers.

Earlier in a goodwill message, the Senate committee chairman on Science, Technology and Innovation, Sen. Uche Ekwunie said that more funding will boost Research and Innovation outputs. She called for newly appointed board members to develop strategies to reposition their agencies positively.