By Eunice Orike
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has made history as he became the first inductee into the hall of fame of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutes ASURI.
This historical event took place at the sensitisation workshop of the staff of FMSTI on the full implementation of the Presidential Executive Order 05 yesterday in Abuja.
The Minister enunciated that the essence of the Executive Order 5, is to ensure that Nigeria acquires technologies that will help in positioning the nation towards self-sufficiency.
He said, “The Executive Order is revolutionary as it is a contribution of the Ministry towards transforming the nation to the level of greatness ordained by God”.
Onu added that the absence of Presidential Executive Order 5, led to the decline of the petroleum refineries as Nigerian engineers were not involved in the construction and repair of the refineries in the first place.
He used the opportunity to appreciate President Buhari for his support so far towards the implementation of the policy.
On the recently revised STI policy, the Minister said that when fully implemented it will be the key to unlock great opportunities for the country’s overall socio-economic development.
In her welcome address, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Monilola Udoh said that every average Nigerian must be aware of the Executive Order 5 in terms of skills and resources.
She further added that relevant MDA’s and stakeholders should take the sensitization exercise serious, in order to transfer the knowledge gotten during the course of the workshop.
The National Coordinator of the Strategy implementation task office of the Presidential Executive Order No. 05 SITOPEO-5, Engr. Ibiam Oguejiofor said the order will encourage Nigerian youths to be at the centre of socio-economic activities.
