The Executive Vice Chairman of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Dr. Bashir Gwandu has stormed the embassy of Czech Republic in Abuja, Nigeria to find out from its Ambassador, Zdeněk Krejčí why Delta2 Project, which was supposed to benefit Nigeria’s technology companies and entrepreneurs and the country’s economic development failed.
Dr. Gwandu told the Ambassador in his office in Abuja yesterday, August 18, that he was on a fact-finding visit on the reason for the failure of the project.
The Delta 2 project was supposed to be a bilateral collaboration between the governments of Nigeria (represented by NASENI) and the Czech Republic (represented by Technology Agency of Czech Republic, TA CR) that would ensure take-off of projects that would foster growth and expansion of infrastructure, manufacturing and innovation in Nigeria, leading to Made-in-Nigeria technologies and products.
Dr. Gwandu said that the new administration at NASENI is ready to work with the Czech government to drive Nigeria’s industrialization agenda and attract new investments in the country that would ensure domestication of technologies through partnerships.
According to him, the mandate of NASENI is to make sure that Nigeria produces most of the goods and services it currently imports of which Nigeria has the capability to produce locally, thus developing the country’s economy and creating jobs for millions of Nigerians.
“I want us to work on government-to-government level on new initiatives we embark on. We want a relationship that is beneficial to our country.
“We have a lot of companies we are reaching out. We want to work with Czech government and companies. We want them to come here and start producing and domesticating technologies. We want to industrialize Nigeria.
“We want Czech companies to come and invest here in Nigeria and have partnership with us.”
Gwandu said that NASENI is working on new initiatives that would accelerate Nigeria’s industrialization and would partner companies from Czech Republic and other countries ready to set up factories and industrial base in Nigeria.
Responding, Czech Ambassador, who did not answer the NASENI boss question, commended him and his team for making out time to visit him at the embassy to enquire on why Delta2 Project did not take off. He said that his country is ready to work with NASENI on scientific cooperations.
“We await your new initiatives. In our country we have a grant agency and a technology agency responsible for scientific cooperations and also the academy of sciences which will be beneficial to you.
“We have about two or three companies that are ready to work with you and three universities working with tropical agriculture. I think they deserve your cooperation.”
He said that they are ready to work with NASENI to make the new initiatives fruitful.
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