Edo, Research Institute mull single platform for tech deployment to drive sustainable development
Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has expressed his administration’s readiness to collaborate with the Centre for Atmospheric Research of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) to accelerate technological innovations and fast track processes to drive sustainable development.
Governor Obaseki disclosed this during a courtesy visit by Babatunde Rabiu, CEO, CAR-NASRDA, to Government House in Benin City, Edo State.
Obaseki said his administration had invested in technological solutions and established relevant institutions to transform the state’s civil service and create wealth, saying the partnership with NASDRA would allow for synergy among all the institutions implementing technological solutions in the state.
Noting that it would be necessary to have a technical partner to coordinate investments in technology, he said, “If we are to accelerate development and achieve goals set for ourselves as a government, technology is a sine qua non.
“The state’s Ministry of Science and Technology will serve as an anchor for the partnership while the state’s Ministry of Education and other institutions of government that are implementing one form of technology solution or the other can be brought together to be on the same page.”
Earlier, Rabiu, who presented a proposal on the synergy to the governor, said the proposal was aimed at offering complementary, scientific and technologybased solutions to enhance sustainable development in the state.
The objective of the intervention is to identify and evaluate potential science and technological manpower already available in the state, and harness the unique contributions of the different science and technology bodies for the benefit of the state, he said.
He said the Centre for Atmospheric Research was ready to work with the state with a view to bringing stakeholders in the state together and communicating contemporary science and technological knowledge and skills to target groups such as schools, institutions of government as well as the private sector.
He said his Institute would also develop platforms to train specialists and groups with the aim of transferring technological skills that could enhance their competitiveness.