The senate has expressed its commitment to boost scientific and technological knowledge in the country for sustainable development
The president of the senate Godswil Akpabio gave this assurance while declaring a one day public hearing on the establishment of federal university of science and Technology Okorokorie in Bayelsa State
Godswil Akpabio represented by the Deputy minority leader senator Ibrahim Khalid representing Kaduna North said the true wealth of a country is not measured by its natural resources, territory, or treasury but by knowledge of its people, the ingenuity of its scientists, the creativity of innovators, and the opportunities it provides for succeeding generations.
He said for decades, the Niger Delta has contributed immensely to Nigerian economic development,
Its resources have powered industries, financed infrastructure, and sustained the national economy.
He argued that yet the greatest source of Nigerian Delta is not oil beneath the soil, it is the intelligence of the children, the enterprise of its young people and the innermost human potential waiting to be developed.
Akpabio further said today’s public hearing on the proposed Federal university of Science and Technology,
Korokoro, Bayelsa State, therefore carries the influence beyond one community or state,
it invites us to consider how education can become an instrument of national information, how science can strengthen economic independence, and how technology can equip our young people, not merely to participate in the future, but to shape it.
The nations that command the greatest influence today are not necessarily those with the largest
deposit of petroleum or minerals, but those that have invested consistently in human development.
The senate president also said we must therefore consider how this proposed institution can be sustainably funded, properly equipped, competently administered,
and positioned to address Nigerian scientific and technological challenges.
Welcoming the quest the chairman senate committee on Tertiary Institution and Tetfund senator Muntari Muhammad Dandutse explained that the public hearing is a vital part of the legislative process.
He said It provides an open and inclusive platform for stakeholders, government agencies, host communities, academic institutions, professional bodies, civil society, students and the general public
to make important contributions that will strengthen the bill before its final consideration by the National Assembly.
Also speaking the sponsor of the bill senator Konbowel Benson emphersised the need to have sufficient supply of the manpower needs, particularly in the area of science and technology.
He said in doing that, we need to establish institutions in order for us to have that needed supply that is why the establishment of this university will make younger ones to actually
engage themselves in reading courses that will make meaning to their existence and the country fir sustainable development
He however, thanked the chairman and members, stakeholders civil society organisations with hope that the legislation will be given favourable consideration and speedy passage.
