LAGOS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria on Wednesday approved a new policy for technology acquisition to allow foreign investment in Science, Technology and Engineering from where local content could be developed.
The policy would facilitate technology transfer, more taxes as well as wealth creation for the country and people, Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, announced this at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.
"Some of the highlights will involve for example where we have bulk purchases of major items that we are bringing into the country that those who normally would have supplied from outside the country will now come to Nigeria to establish their factories to produce in Nigeria," he added.
"By doing so they will offer job opportunities to our people, tax will be paid to government so wealth will be created but most importantly Nigeria will now acquire the necessary technology that will help us to build capacity," the minister told reporters.
The aim is that in the next 10 years Nigerian firms shall be in a position to carry out very complex jobs, especially the ones that they do not currently have the expertise to do, Onu added.
He said the country would for now rely on foreign companies for such jobs but when they arrive they have to work with Nigerian firms who would understudy them from project conception to inauguration.
The minister told reporters that it was the only way that the country could acquire the necessary technology to build our local capacity hoping that in 20 years Nigerian firms should be competing with the best in the world.
He said FEC has accepted to declare a state of emergency on Science and Technology because the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017 to 2020 recognized the cardinal place of science and technology in driving the recovery and growth plan.
