FIIRO automates two plants for Kunu, Zobo drinks

The Director General of the institute, Prof. Gloria Elemo, announced this yesterday, at the ongoing Technology and Innovation Expo, 2018 in Abuja.

Prof. Elemo said the initiative, which is already waiting for commercialization by investors was in partnership between FIIRO and an indigenous automation company, Automation and Engineering Nigeria Limited.

The DG also said the agency had developed over 150 patents that are now ready for mass production but needed investors to take them off the shelves for commercialization.

According to her, “there is need for a National Forum on Commercialization of indigenous research and development result to encourage researchers and inventors in the country.”

For Prof. Elemo, Nigeria has developed tons of indigenous technologies that are capable of promoting it into an industrialized nation.

Speaking on the theme “Stimulating Economic Growth through Commercialization of indigenous Research and Development, she said the objective of the TechExpo was to bring stakeholders together to discuss commercialization of indigenous research and development result and to critically examine the benefits of commercialization for national socio-economic development.

She said the mandate of the Institute, which was established since 1956, is to research and develops technologies to turn around the socio-economic fortunes of Nigeria, through research and development.

Earlier, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu who was represented by the Director, Science and Technology promotions in the ministry, Dr. Ekanem Udoh, urged all participants in conjunction with FIIRO to share ideas and come up with the best results that will move the nation forward.

In his key note address titled: “Research and Development commercialization: Pancea for wealth creation and economic growth in Nigeria” by Prof. Mathew llori of the African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, said that developing nations can no longer compete based only on their natural resource endowments and locational advantages but with science, technology and innovation.

“For Nigeria to become competitive in this era of globalisation, there is need for such nation to apply scientific methods to her natural resources for value addition,”he said.