From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, inaugurated the Inter-ministerial Committee on Research and Innovation, stating that one of its main objectives is to cut Nigeria’s food import bill by half. He emphasised that the committee will focus on achieving meaningful progress, prioritising impactful missions over merely tracking metrics.
“We will not be content with data for dashboards, we want deliverables that change lives. What will it take to reduce our food import bill by 50 percent? How do we triple local pharmaceutical production? Let us align policy, research, and investment to answer these questions and achieve measurable, meaningful outcomes,” he added.
He charged its members with the critical tasks of ensuring food security, achieving energy independence to fuel economic growth, and reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imports. He explained that the committee is a vital component of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s efforts to harness intellectual and financial resources, creating a central platform to guide the development of Nigeria’s innovation economy.
In a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the vice president pointed out that the mission is to build Nigeria into a trillion-dollar economy within 10 years.
“We are here to breathe life not into this Committee, but into a bold mission; to build Nigeria into an innovation-driven, trillion-dollar economy within a decade. The future we desire is not something we inherit. It is something we build,” he said.
Shettima remarked that innovation is fundamental to the progress of any civilisation, stressing that societies cannot advance by remaining stagnant. He stated that for Nigeria to achieve meaningful development, it must invest in acquiring new knowledge, benchmark its achievements against those of other nations, and continuously assess its current position relative to its aspirations.
“None of this is possible without research—the mother of all the inventions that have guided humanity through the waves of the industrial revolutions. This gathering, therefore, is a declaration of our collective resolve to till the soil, explore the seas, and scout the space of knowledge to understand the consequences of our choices. I am truly inspired by the promise of what we are setting out to achieve here,” he stated.
On the committee’s terms of reference, he said the committee is to coordinate action in five strategic sectors with the power to transform society.
He listed the committee to include “Agriculture and Climate Resilience, where research innovation must feed our people and protect our planet; manufacturing excellence, where we break our dependency on imports and build proudly Nigerian supply chains; healthcare innovation, where we shift from importing medicines to exporting medical breakthroughs; natural resource optimisation, where we stop selling raw materials and start exporting ingenuity; and energy security, where we power our economy and secure our future.”
Shettima disclosed that the committee is a prelude to a presidential plenary on innovation approved by President Tinubu, saying the high-level plenary, which will be held annually, will be presided over by the president himself.
“This committee is only the beginning. His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, has approved a Presidential Plenary on Innovation—an annual high-level forum that will bring together academia, research institutes, industry, civil society, and the Nigerian people to align our national innovation priorities.
“This plenary will be addressed by Mr. President himself, because innovation is a presidential area of priority. It is central to his vision for a new Nigeria,” the VP explained.
Earlier on, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Uche Nnaji, who commended the leadership provided by the vice president and the commitment of the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, noted that collaboration was critical in the renewed vigour to prioritise research and innovation.
The minister stated that the inter-ministerial committee would enable the country to conserve valuable resources and accelerate progress by coordinating efforts, as well as pooling human and material assets, to strengthen research and innovation in key sectors of the economy.
“The keyword here is collaboration. We have been spending a lot of money on our various ministries, duplicating our functions. I believe that with this collaboration and this committee here, we will save a lot of money for the government and reduce duplication,” he said.
Also present at the inauguration were the ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari; Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani; Alhaji Balarabe Lawal; Idi Mukhtar and representatives of the Ministers of Education, Budget and Economic Planning, and Foreign Affairs, among other members of the committee.