By Dele Ogbodo
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr. Khalil Halilu, has charged the management staff of the Agency to put forward ideas on how NASENI can effectively support the priorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu such as large-scale switching of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to alternative fuels to reduce the cost of living for Nigerians.
He stated this as he began receiving briefings from the Managing Directors of the Agency’s ten (10) Development Institutes, situated in Enugu, Minna, Awka, Okene, Nnewi, Kano, Jalingo, Akure, Ilesha and Nasarawa.
According to Halilu, “Our Institutes are the engines of NASENI’s innovation and these briefings by each Institute are critical as we work together to craft the future of NASENI, as it relates to delivering on the President’s renewed hope agenda.”
In addition to the Managing Directors, Team Leads of various NASENI projects, as well as the agency’s Research Directors, also made presentations to the EVC on their various projects and efforts.
The briefings, which commenced on Monday September 18, 2023, are taking place ahead of the EVC’s planned tour of NASENI facilities across the institutes scheduled to commence in October.
Also on Tuesday, September 19, the EVC/CEO inaugurated a Committee to look into staff welfare, as part of steps to fulfil his pledge, upon assuming office, to ensure that NASENI becomes “a public sector employer of choice in Nigeria.”
The EVC tasked the Committee—made up exclusively of middle-level and junior staff of NASENI—with producing a Human Resources (HR) revamp plan for NASENI. According to the EVC, “Our junior staff are indeed the ones on the frontlines of our work, bearing the biggest burdens, and therefore deserving of special attention, support and welfare.”
To round off the week, the EVC/CEO paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, on Friday September 22, at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja.
Commenting on the meeting, which discussed opportunities for collaboration in advancing research in methanol production, lithium mining, and natural medicine, the EVC/CEO said, both institutions were “keen to jointly commercialize existing research outputs,” adding that “I have no doubt that NASENI has a strong and committed partner, in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.”
Also on Friday, Halilu met with a young Nigerian innovator based in Maiduguri, Borno State, Mustapha Gajibo, who specializes in converting petrol-fired vehicles to use gas and solar energy. “There’s no limit to what young Nigerians can achieve in science and technology, and at NASENI we want to be a part of these inspiring stories from every corner of the country,” said the EVC/CEO.
