Prof Ita Ewa, minister of Science and Technology, has said that his ministry’s ward-based cluster projects will soon start at the designated political wards nationwide.
Ewa stated this at the opening of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council techno-expo and 25th anniversary of the council in Abuja.
He said the scheme would begin on a pilot basis at the designated locations.
The minister said that strategies were being worked out to ensure that the projects were replicated at other wards in the country.
Ewa said the programme was in line with the transformation agenda of turning around the economies of the rural areas in the country.
The minister said that skill acquisition centres built across the country would be used to train unemployed youths, using technologies developed by the ministry.
“Trainees at the centres will later graduate and will be empowered to acquire these technologies to operate as entrepreneurs to generate income. The water project is meant to create jobs at the rural areas in line with transformation agenda and consequently discourage rural-urban migration. The project will create a melting pot for government, academia and private sector to chain-up and drive the economy to a competitive level,’’ Ewa said.
Prof. Robert Boroffice, chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, said that the council was a focal point for development and utilization of Nigeria’s vast industrial raw materials.
Boroffice said there was a need to draw up strategies to enhance local raw materials content development.
He said this could be done through value addition to available raw materials and local production of process equipment and machinery.
Boroffice assured the council of continuous support by the National Assembly, in pursuant of its mandate to ensure that adequate fund was appropriated to it annually.