FG awards patent certificates to 19 researchers, inventors

The Federal Government has awarded patent certificates to 19 researchers for their various inventions and innovations in addressing economic problems.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Adeleke Mamora, presented the certificates to the beneficiaries on Thursday in Abuja.

The presentation was organised by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).

Mamora described the event as a boost to research, industrialisation and development in the country.

He praised NOTAP for delivering on its mandate by providing an efficient process for the acquisition and domestication of foreign technologies.

The minister urged beneficiaries to create an impact for the FG’s Economic Sustainability Plan where researches were translated to production activities and create jobs for youth.

“Nigerian innovators, researchers and scientists should improve on their ability to protect their intellectual properties through the help of NOTAP.

“The recipients should make more efforts to move their Research and Development results to be available in the market, which would boost the nation’s overall socio-economic fortunes,” he said.

Mamora added that for any economy to strengthen its intellectual properties, it must increase its investment in Research and Development (R and D).

He called for improved partnership between the private sector and research communities to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Director-General of NOTAP, Dr DanAzumi Ibrahim, said, “for any economy to become independent, there is the need for capacity building.

“For any nation to become economically independent, we have to develop the necessary capacities, they are the human resources God has given us.

“In the process, we realise the gap between us and developing nations is wide and it is important to bridge it.

“Doing so depends on our capacity to convert our raw materials into products and services, and food supply.

Ibrahim said: “We don’t need to import anything into the country, but to export and make income from other nation.”

The D-G added that no nation that was aspiring to become economically independent would fold its arms and allow its economy to collapse.

He also said that more than 90 per cent of the technologies that powered the Nigerian economy were imported technologies.

“No nation can do it alone, scientists are expected to come up with technologies that should be able to assist Nigeria improve the quality of life of our citizens,” he said.

Ibrahim added that the private sector and research communities had responsibilities to come together to see how the country can grow into economic prosperity.

“We see the quantum amount that leaves this country as licensing fees, this should inspire our intervention,” he said.

It was reported that some of the innovations were based on renewable energy, military hardware and election monitoring.

Some of the beneficiary institutions included the research and development arms of University of Ilorin, Nigerian Airforce, Ekiti University, Yaba College of Technology and Scientific Development Institute.