The National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) has inaugurated the National Working Committee (NWC) on Science, Technology, and Innovation(STI).
The NWC is mandated to help Nigeria achieve its National development strategies.
Speaking during the event held on Wednesday, the Director General of NACETEM, Dr. John Omimakinde, said that STI indicators were being deployed by developed nations in economic planning, policy formulation,and development strategies.
Omimakinde said: ”These indicators will ultimately facilitate evidence-based policy making and assist the government to remove guesswork from governance.
“In fact, the objectives of STI indicators project include among others, to monitor, evaluate and forecast Nigeria’s performance on STI.
”It will also benchmark national developmental targets and assess Nigeria’s international competitiveness on STI.
“It further lends credence to its strategic importance in achieving sustainable development in Nigeria.
“It is a project we cannot afford to treat with kid’s gloves as it requires concerted efforts and intentionality to make our data not only reliable, but timely, “
According to him, the Federal Government had in 2007 mandated NACETEM to serve as the implementation agency of the STI indicators projects to drive the agency’s mandate of establishing, maintaining ,and providing access to data banks on STI research outputs and facilitating activities towards their commercial exploitation.
