By Mohammed Mohammed
For being Nigeria’s most labour-friendly Minister coupled with his superlative performance in office, the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), on Thursday inducted the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, into its Hall of Fame.
Dr. George Martins, who spoke on behalf of ASURI President and General Secretary, Dr. Nnamdi Onuka and Dr. Theophilus Ndubuaku, said history has been recorded as the iconic Minister becomes the first inductee into it’s the Union’s Hall of Fame.
In a citation he rendered at the launch of the Presidential Executive Order No 5 (EO5), Onuka, said: “We feel honoured that the Minister has accepted to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of ASURI. He will be first Minister in history to be inducted into this hall of fame.
“He is the most labour friendly Minister in the country and for the second time in 3 years, ASURI is again here to honour you.
“We recall that on the 28 May 2019, when you were ending your first tenure as Minister due to your superlative performance, we joined the Ministry’s Valedictory Session that day where we made a presentation titled:
“The making of First Class Minister, not only in acknowledgment of your first class which you scored all through in your academic life but also for posting a first-class performance as a Minister.
“Today we are back and better to honour you, by inducting you on merit as the most labour-friendly Minister in Nigeria into the newly created ASURI Hall of Fame.
It is remarkable and most warming that you are the first ever inductee into the Hall of Fame of our great Union, Onuka, added
While underscoring the importance of the EO5 to Nigeria’s development, the Minister, acknowledged that the policy is a revolutionary policy enunciated by the Ministry for Nigeria’s technology development as it seeks to transform Nigeria putting into cognizance the resources that God has blessed the country with.
He added: “The policy is more than local content, it is rather a state policy on technology development and a nation’s turnaround.
“The background to EO5 is something that we need to refresh our memories with. For instance, Nigeria built her first refinery in Port Harcourt in early 1960s though PH now two refineries, and also we have one in Kaduna and the other in Warri.
“Now because there was no Presidential Executive Order No 5, when these refineries were being built, Nigerians engineers and professionals did not participate in the construction and design of these refineries.
“The effect is that though we are involved in the operations and even the turnaround maintenance very often we need foreigners and this is 2022, 60 years after, this should not be so as this has one of the major problems today.”
On the recently revised STI policy, the Minister said that when fully implemented it will be the key to unlock great opportunities for the country’s overall socio-economic development.
In her welcome address, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Monilola Udoh, enjoined every Nigerian must be aware of the Eo5 in terms of skills and resources.
She further added that relevant MDA’s and stakeholders should take the sensitization exercise serious, in order to transfer the knowledge gotten during the course of the workshop.
Earlier in his remark, the National Coordinator, Strategy Implementation Task Force for the Presidential Executive Order 5, Engr. Ibiam Oguejiofo, said the policy if implemented will go a long way in putting Nigerians, youths and manufacturers at the centre of the Nigerian economy.
He said: “If we continue to go in the direction that we are presently going, I can tell you that in the next 10 to 20 years, many of our young people will be slaves to foreigners in their land
“I wouldn’t like this to happen. Whereas Nigeria youths are very intelligent and have something to offer.
“I also know that we have a lot of resources and what it takes to manage them and so this must not happen.”
