The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), in conjunction with PZ Cussons Nig. Plc recently organised a one-day sensitization workshop for all relevant stakeholders in Science, Technology and Innovation on how to promote the Nigerian local content policy and stop capital flight in the country.
In his welcome address, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Dr. Dan Azumi Ibrahim said the agency was empowered to implement the acquisition, promotion and development of Technology as well as to regulate the inflow of foreign technology into Nigeria. He noted that the Agency had refused to approve importation of technologies and services that could ordinarily be handled by Nigerians in order to reduce foreign domination in the Nigerian economy. This, he maintained was also to improve and promote domestic technology and encourage science-driven innovations in the manufacturing sector.

The event which took place in Westown Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos had in attendance the Vice-Chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State, Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba who noted that the country had over the years, been dominated by foreign technologies, stressing that it was now ripe for research institutions to brace-up with the challenge of finding ways to improve local contents in technologies that are been used in the country.
The Vice-Chancellor further decried the under-funding of university education, stating that if well-funded, it would spearhead research for the development of locally-made technologies to solve the myriads of problems confronting the country.

The Managing Director, PZ Cussons Plc., Christos Giannopoulous remarked that the sensitization workshop was to further create and develop avenues to boost Science and Innovation in Nigeria.
In his keynote address, the Secretary to the Adamawa State Government, Umar Bindir, speaking on the topic entitled: “The imperative of Government/Industry Partnership for Sustainable Technology Transfer”, stressed on the need to create research and development centres if the country must do well with science, technology and innovation, adding that getting the right syllables would go a long way to bringing the best out of the country.
According to him, the population of Nigeria should serve as a great advantage for the development of STI, noting that the education sector must be revamped if the country seriously wants to innovate.