The Federal Government, on Monday, disclosed that over 900,000 jobs have been created in the past six months through the science and technology sector.
Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, stated this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Expo.
He said the expo is holding at an unusual time, coupled with the coronavirus outbreak, urging participants at the ongoing expo to intensify more effort in producing locally many of the things the country imported.
According to him: “Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that Nigeria saved over N1trillion in the importation of raw materials in both 2017 and 2018. The data for 2019 is yet to be released. Patents from scientists and engineers who passed through the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has continued to increase.
“In 2015, the first year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, it was only 6. In 2016; it was 16, 50 in 2017; 55 in 2018 and 57 in 2019. Also, in 2019, the FMST was adjudged the overall best among all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria in service delivery by the National Service Delivery Office,” he added.
Dr Onu, therefore, informed the gathering that the presidential order No 5 and the national strategy competitiveness in raw materials and product development in the country already passed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC)