The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu, has called for strong partnership between Nigeria and UKaid-Africa to boost knowledge transfer in Science, Technology and Innovation.
Mr. Nabasu made the call when he received a delegation of UKaid and UK-Africa science partnership in the ministry in Abuja on Wednesday.
Nabasu said President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to lift more than 100 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years could only be realised through science and technology, adding that inputs of UKaid in the objective would be crucial in its realization.
Nabasu said the federal government had initiated major policies in STI to help drive economic diversification and appealed to UKaid to assist in the area of their implementation.
“We are not short of capacity, but it is the implementation of such capacity,” he said.
He disclosed that Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful progress unless the tools of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) are put to good use.
He commended UKaid in Africa for using technology to improve the fortunes of the ordinary citizens of Nigeria.
Earlier, the Head of UKaid, UK-AFRICA West African Team leader, Leanne Jones, said the objective of their meeting was to support partner countries like Nigeria to harness science and technology to improve economic opportunities.
She emphasised that UK will deploy technology to addressing poverty reduction while digital technologies would also be employed to expand broadband and internet options in Nigeria.
Dr. Nee-Joo Teu, Head of the UK Knowledge Transfer Technology, said partnership with the federal government was essential to building suitable technological models for Nigeria that are friendly to the eco-system and eventually grow Nigeria’s economy.
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