President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku as he turns 90 on January 18, 2023.

In a letter he personally signed, the President said; “It gives me great joy and delight to warmly rejoice with a seasoned diplomat and administrator, Emeka Anyaoku, on his 90th birthday.

“I acknowledge the worthy contributions you have made to the development of the country, starting out as a young Foreign Service Officer, and reaching the pinnacle of your career as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, through vision and diligence, and consistently projecting Nigeria as a great nation.

“Thank you for your statesmanship, and for using your extensive network of international friends to support the country’s efforts in deepening good governance, democracy and sustainable development.

 “As you hit the milestone of 90, we give glory to God for the grace of longevity, in good health and sound mind, and rejoice with you, your family and loved ones.”

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has announced that modalities are in place to implement the allocation of 0.5% of the Nation’s Gross domestic Product, GDP to Research and Development in the country.

The President who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Science, Technology and Innovation EXPO 2023 holding in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

President Buhari revealed that the National Economic Council has been communicated to come up with modalities in achieving the aim.

“In tandem with the decision made by the African Union Executive Council in 2006 to establish a target for all members states of 1% of GDP investment in Research and Development (R&D) in order to improve innovation, productivity and economic growth. At this junction, we want to reiterate that having come to terms with the challenges of this critical sector of the economy, we will henceforth dedicate 0.5% of our GDP to R&D in order to fast track meaningful development,” he said.

Budgetary Improvement

The president promised further improvement of budgetary provisions, welfare of human resources and infrastructures as well as training and re-training of personnel, both locally and internationally for global competitiveness.

“As a government, since we took over power in 2015, we demonstrated our love and desire to diversify our economy by the application of the Science, Technology and Innovation through improving the budgetary allocation of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation; whose budget before then was so meagre that it could not have achieved any meaningful economic development” the President said.

The President further recalled efforts made to improve the Science Technology and Innovation sector under his administration to include the convention, for the first time, of the National Research and Innovation Council meeting, the signing of the Executive Order No. 5 for the Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts, Science, Engineering and Technology, inauguration of the Presidential Monitoring and Evaluation Council and the establishment of six Technology and Innovation Centres of Excellence across the six geopolitical zones of the country amongst others.

Scholarship Grant

President Buhari also announced scholarship grant of up to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) level to the three best secondary school students that emerged winners at the just concluded 774 Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award competition.

“It has been the practice of my Administration as we do award scholarship since the maiden edition of the Science, Technology and Innovation Expo in 2017, to the three best students,”the president added.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Adeleke Mamora said that over the years, Nigeria has shown signs of great future with the utilisation of Science, Technology and Innovation as the catalyst of development of its abundance of natural and human resources.

He however noted that it must be accompanied by a condusive working environment that encourages the application of the skills acquired through STI.

“STI constitutes the foundation and driving force in the industrial leadership of nations and business entities as well as economic success on the global scale. Countries who have made significant progress towards sustainable economic development, owe their success to significant investments in STI, which ensures uninterrupted increase in productivity and possibility of equitable and sustainable industrial development,” he said.

Dr Mamora said that charting the course of technological development; improved Research and Development, Policy Formulation, Supervision, and Promotion of all matters of STI ecosystem in the country amongst others are some of the strides of the Ministry made recently in fulfilling its mandate.

The Chairman House Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, Beni Lar said that the energy commission amendment bill which will make the energy need of the nation more sustainable is awaiting assent by the Nigerian President

“The methanol project picking up today fully, so Nigeria’s energy and electricity can also be produce from biomats. The efforts we are making in the National Assembly as far as bills are concerned, we have a bill awaiting assent from Mr. President, the Energy Commission amendment bill, to make the energy Commission more self sustaining, to provide greater resources for it so that they can meet the energy need of the Nation. Once that bill is signed, we will see almost the end of electricity shortages because we will have alternative and renewable energy sources” she said.

The house committee chair added that Nigeria cannot rely on a mono economy system where everything is from oil and gas but to have its ingrown technology.

Highlights of the events were the unveiling of National Policy on Methanol Fuel Production Technology and the Presentation of prizes to the top three winners of the 774 young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award.

Confidence Okwuchi

The Senator representing Sokoto North Senatorial District, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has sponsored more indigent students who are indigenes of Sokoto State to study various graduate and post graduate courses at the University of Lahore, the Republic of Pakistan.

Presenting the admission letters to the successful and qualified candidates, the Senator implored them to ensure total commitment to their educational pursuits.

He urged them to focus on their studies in order to come out in flying colours at the end of their courses.

Good name of Nigeria

He further challenged them to use the opportunity given to them to be of good conduct while at Pakistan and ensure they maintain the good name of Nigeria.

In a statement by Wamakko’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bashar Abubakar, the candidates included: Abdulkadir Abubakar and Abubakar Sadiq, who are to study Masters of Business Administration, MBA, respectively.

Auwal Aminu is to study Pharmacy, while Sagir Abubakar Lemi will study, BS Social Sciences (Political and International Relation).

Others are: Sa’idu Aminu, BSc Media and Mass Communication, Ahmad Yusuf Maccido and Naziru Abubakar are to study BSc Diet and Nutritional Sciences in the same institution.

Musa Bello and Mande Kasimu were given BA Business Administration, while Saifullahi Shehu got BSc Visual Communication Design to study.

Also among them was the only female candidate, Salamatu Ahmad Umar, alongside Gaddafi Abubakar, who will both study, BSc Computer Science, while Mukhtar Isah Sadiq and Al’amin Liya’u Alkali will study BSc Electrical Engineering, respectively.

The last was Yasir Harande Mahe, who got admission to study BS Social Science (Political and International Relation) .

Some of the beneficiaries thanked Senator Aliyu Wamakko for the gesture and pledged to study hard as expected.

They described the invaluable gesture of Senator Wamakko as marvelous and prayed to Almighty Allah to reward him abundantly.

The candidates will soon leave Sokoto State, Nigeria for the Republic of Pakistan as their Visas were ready.

This is not the first time Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko was sponsoring the indigents of the state to study various courses both at home Nigeria and abroad.

Lateefah Ibrahim

The Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila says the Ninth Assembly will work towards passing all pending bills in the House before the end of the legislative year.

Gbajabiamila made gave the assurance while welcoming members back to the chambers for a new legislative year  after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

He said; ”It is imperative that the House focuses its efforts on completing the tasks it has already initiated and closing out the assignments on which the legacy of the 9th House will be assessed.

“When the 9th House of Representatives was inaugurated in 2019, we hit the ground running to discover and present solutions to our country’s problems.  Some of our efforts have yielded positive results in some regards, and in other areas, there is still work to do.  We must resolve to continue to do the people’s work despite the obligations and distractions of the political campaign season.  As we approach the end of our term in office, I am hopeful that we will continue to meet and exceed expectations in this new year.’‘

‘‘Let us begin this new year with a renewed commitment to legislative action that brings us closer to achieving our highest aspirations for our nation.  Let us resume with renewed determination to achieve better oversight of government spending priorities through a collaborative effort with the executive arm of government and civil society.  And we remain dedicated to the lofty yet clear ambitions we articulated in our Legislative Agenda when we resumed in the 9th Assembly,” Gbajabiamila said.

He noted that several bills still in the legislative process needed to be actioned as a matter of urgency, as those bills propose significant improvements across different sectors of national life.

The Speaker said; “Some of these bills are still in committee, while others are awaiting concurrence in the Senate. We will see to it that we conclude work on these bills so that they can be presented to Mr president during the life of this administration. One recurring criticism of the legislature in Nigeria has been the lack of continuity and the absence of tools and procedures for establishing an institutional memory. 

”Government is a continuum; the actions of one administration will continue to impact the country long into the future.  As the democratic process leads to continuous personnel turnover,  it is vital to have a system that allows future officeholders to understand the decisions made by their predecessors. In the executive arm of government, it is established practice to prepare handover notes.”

Gbajabiamila however propose to the House that it adopts the practice at the Committee level.

He said that the House Committee on Rules and Business would lead the effort by formulating guidelines to make the adoption possible.

“Over the last few appropriation cycles, the dire conditions of our national finance have required significant borrowing to finance government operations, sustain investments in infrastructure and national security and improve the living conditions of the Nigerian people. Just as the 9th Assembly has reformed the appropriations process to ensure timely budget passage, we also intend to leave a legacy of transparency and accountability as a standard for the future.  Therefore, as part of preparing our reports, we must make a deliberate effort to give a complete account of our oversight activities in the 9th House of Representatives,” the Speaker said.

He also said that ”the 9th Assembly has made reasonable progress in achieving the objectives it set in its legislative agenda. 

“It is time to consider what has been done, what we didn’t do, and why.” 

The Committee on Monitoring and Implementation of the Legislative Agenda will review activities of the 9th House of Representatives and present a report on the implementation of our legislative agenda to the House.

Gbajabiamila said; ”This is necessary to ensure that we have a report card to show the Nigerian people at the end of our term.  But just as importantly, this review will allow us to better understand where we succeeded and where we didn’t as a guide for the future.”

The 9th House of Representatives adopted the Legislative Agenda as a statement governing its priorities.

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Mercy Chukwudiebere