President Muhammadu Buhari says the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, will be a pivotal legacy his administration will bequeath to the next administration in 2023.
The President stated this in Abuja at the commissioning of the President Muhammadu Buhari Technology and Innovation Complex at NASENI headquarters on Tuesday.
According to President Buhari, the Agency under his administration, was repositioned to become a technology and innovation hub for national development.
“This is one pivotal legacy of this administration. With this complex and the 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 Africa Union’s 2063 Agenda and United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, 2030.
“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 realization of her full potential in line with the Act that established the Agency” says the President.
According to him, “NASENI, under my watch as the Chairman of the Governing Council, has lived up to its expectations and has performed well, that the Agency has invented useful and historic intelligence and defense-related equipment and devices and has engineered, in collaboration with reputable organizations, Armored Personnel Carrier with advanced features and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected APC, among others.
President Buhari also said the agency is currently implementing Smart Irrigation Projects for multi-crop season farming; the National Tractor Recovery, Rehabilitation and Redeployment Innovation, in collaboration with Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending,” stressing that the “assembly of two helicopters towards first Made In Nigeria Helicopter and the development of Solar cells for 100%Solar Module production, using local raw materials are among contributions to Nigeria’s transition to a manufacturing compatriotism.
President Buhari reiterated NASENI’s relevance as a critical agency towards the maintenance and sustainability of the nation’s infrastructure, that the present administration has invested heavily in diverse infrastructural facilities: in roads, rails, water and aviation , among other sectors of the economy.