Chairman Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Ajayi Borroffice, has commended the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) for saving Nigeria the sum of N188.2 billion in capital flight.
Borroffice gave this commendation in a statement signed by Raymond Ogbu of the press unit of NOTAP on Monday in Abuja. Borroffice, who led the committee on an oversight function to NOTAP, said with agencies like NOTAP there was hope for the country.
He commended the agency for partnering both public and private establishments, Friesland Campina WAMCO, in particular, to ensure dairy development, having about 10 percent local content in the milk production.
According to Ajayi, the establishment of 38 Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in some tertiary institutions is a demonstration of understanding global trends in intellectual property development.
“As a former lecturer, I understand the huge financial requirement involved in the establishment of these offices. I hope a special research fund can be set aside to enable researchers carry out demand driven researches,’’ Ajayi said.
In his welcome address, DanAzumi Ibrahim, director-general of NOTAP, said the office was vital to the socio-economic development of the country, because of its role in evolving indigenous knowledge system.
Ibrahim said though NOTAP deals mainly with intangible matter, the resultant effect of the agency’s regulatory activities was huge in terms of financial savings to the nation.
He added that NOTAP insists that no company should be granted technology transfer agreement certificate to bring in expatriates when there are local capacities to handle such jobs.
Ibrahim said Nigerian entrepreneurs and indigenous companies appreciate the importance of the office, as they were the direct beneficiaries of the agency’s activities.
The director-general said NOTAP in 2006 in collaboration with World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) embarked on the project to establish IPTTOs in Nigerian tertiary institutions and research institutes across the country.
He, therefore, solicited the support of the law makers for an improved budgetary allocation to enable the office extend the IPTTOs to more tertiary institutions to enhance Nigerians socio-economic growth.
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