Onu inaugurates committee to reward performing agencies

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnya Onu, on Tuesday inaugurated a Competitiveness Assessment Committee (CAC) charged with assessing the performances of the agencies of the ministry.

Speaking at the brief ceremony in Abuja, Onu said that the committee’s assessment of the agencies would focus on their mandates and efforts in the area of research and innovation for ministerial awards.

He said that the first position would attract a cash reward of N1 billion while the second and third positions would receive N750 million and N500 million respectively.

The minister said that the money would be tied to support specific capital projects of the lucky agencies.

“It is my hope that in future, the ministry will increase the amount and also make the award an annual event.”

He charged the committee to develop a template which would take into cognisance the peculiarities of the agencies and their adherence to the mandate.

He further said that the committee should access the relevance of the agencies’ research and innovation to national development as well as their originality and uniqueness.

“The committee should generate, compile and rank agencies based on their overall performances, assessing their commercialised research and development results.

“It should evaluate management’s capability to lead demand-driven research; assessing and evaluating collaboration with industries and institutes within and outside the country.

“It should also assess the level of local content utilisation in research and development, among others.”

He said that the essence was to effectively institutionalise a reward system in the science sector.

The minister further said that the initiative would encourage healthy competition among the 17 agencies in the ministry.

“This will in the long run help to facilitate development in the science and technology sector.”

Onu charged the committee to be fair and transparent in the discharge of its assignment, adding that the had up to the end of August to submit its report.

Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Motso Onuoha, President, Nigerian Academy of Science, gave the assurance that the team would be diligent in its assignment.

Onuoha said that consideration would be given to agencies with special innovations were germane to nation’s technological growth and development.