The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has revealed that former Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Onu created 900,000 jobs through laudable initiatives he spearheaded that transformed the nation’s scientific landscape.
He also said that the initiatives saved the country over N1 trillion.
Speaker Abbas made the revelation while delivering the first memorial lecture in honour of the late minister who was also former governor of old Abia State in Abuja on Thursday.
Represented by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Speaker Abbas said “As Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Onu’s contributions are well documented. This appointment allowed him to promote science, technology, and innovation at the highest policy level, leading to several significant achievements.
“For instance, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that he was instrumental to the creation of over nine hundred thousand (900,000) jobs and saved the country over N1trillion through the reduction of imports of raw materials. The policy of National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw Materials which he initiated significantly improved the ranking of Nigeria according to the 2018-2019 assessment of the World Economic Forum.
“He also introduced the Annual Science and Technology Expo which brings together researchers, innovators, scientists, and entrepreneurs to engage one another. The objective is to stimulate effective mobilization and deployment of research findings for scientific production and commercialization.
“As an astute administrator, he revolutionized the running of the Ministry by introducing regular management meetings and transparency initiatives leading to the Ministry winning the 2019 SERVICOM award for excellence in service delivery. Also, many parastatals under the Ministry of Science won several awards, reflecting the innovations in the Ministry.”
Speaker Abbas further said that during the outbreak of COVID-19, late Onu leveraged the opportunity to innovate and advance home-grown technological and scientific solutions.
“Consequently, under his meticulous guidance, the National Agency for Science Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), invented the first made-in-Nigeria ventilators and disinfectant safety sprayers. To instill innovative knowledge early in our youths, he organized the National Science and Technology competition for secondary schools and young scientists tagged “774 Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award” (774 YONSPA). Through these competitions, young scientists who excelled were granted scholarships to study up to the doctoral level”, he said.
