President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the Technology and Innovation Complex of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

The complex is named after Mr Buhari.

Speaking at the event, the president declared that the NASENI would be a pivotal legacy his administration would bequeath to the next administration in 2023.

He stated that under his regime, the agency was repositioned to become a Technology and Innovation Hub for national development.

“This is one pivotal legacy of this administration. With this complex and available facility, the future of our national competitiveness among global economies is promising. We are sure that these advanced Science and Engineering Core facilities will assist our nation in the attainment of African Union’s 2063 Agenda and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2030,” he said.

While decrying NASENI’s inability to attain its full potential over the years, Buhari assured of his administration’s determination to reverse the trend.

“NASENI has a long history of establishment and has been in existence for over 30 years now, but the agency has been facing so many challenges that were mitigating against the realisation of her full potential in line with the Act that established the agency,” stated Mr Buhari.

He added, ”Under my chairmanship, NASENI is undergoing a reinvention and transformation to become a technology and innovation hub for our national development. Consequently, we have strategically repositioned NASENI to develop local capacity in machine building and fabrication, which is critical to Nigeria’s industrial development.”

According to the president, NASENI is now domesticating foreign technologies and product development through backward integration, citing the recent attraction of 250 Czeck Koruna or a $10.5 million research and development grant to Nigeria as evidence that his administration’s transformation is achieving results in building a competitive agency.

“NASENI, under my watch as the chairman of the governing council, has lived up to its expectations and has performed well,” he explained. “The agency had invented useful and historic intelligence and defence-related equipment and devices and has engineered, in collaboration with reputable organisations, armoured personnel carriers with advanced features and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected APC, among others.”

(NAN)