The government of Nasarawa State has promised continued partnership with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to advance agriculture and engineering in the state.
Nasarawa State governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule made the pledge during a courtesy visit to the agency on Wednesday in Abuja.
Gov. Sule said that his administration would fully support the agency through provision of land and other logistics to enable it to deliver on its mandate.
He added that the partnership with NASENI would yield positive outcomes by improving the science and technology sectors of the state at both secondary and tertiary education levels.
Sule urged the agency to continue working towards delivering its mandate through operations and development of its institutes.
He said, “Each of the institutes has a unique mandate of advancing the nation’s engineering infrastructural development and also creating more job opportunities.
“I am impressed by your achievements as an intervention agency through your initiatives and home grown technologies for industrialisation and economic wellbeing,” Engr. Sule said.
Meanwhile the Executive Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, in his remarks thanked the governor and his team for the visit and facility tour of the agency.
The Chairman said that the agency was working in collaboration with some state governments and international bodies in order to deliver on its mandates.
He added that the agency had invested in the establishment of training institutes across states of the country with the aim of reducing unemployment and advancing the sciences.
“As an agency, we are committed to harnessing the vast minerals resources across the country by establishing institutions for improved internal revenue and self-reliance among the youths.
“We have about 10 training institutes across different states of the federation which include Kano Enugu and Nasarawa among others.
“We are also proposing additional seven training institutions in more states of the federation.
” The institutions are specifically established to advance areas of production of capital goods, research, production and reverse engineering,” he said.
Haruna also called for continued government support, adding that no nation or society can develop without government investments in research and development or innovations, while insisting that the secret of developed nations was their massive investments in science, technology and innovations.