Tony Akowe, Abuja
THE House of Representatives has decried the low budgetary allocation to Science and Technology in the nation’s annual budget.
It assured the nation of its willingness to increase budgetary allocation to the sub-sector to fund research for transforming the economy.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Beni Lar (PDP, Plateau), spoke on Monday when she led members of the committee on an oversight to the Ministry of Science and Technology in Abuja.
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The lawmaker said it was disheartening that only 0.2 per cent of the nation’s budget was allocated to the ministry.
She said though the ministry has several agencies that are meant to push Nigeria’s technological advancement in manufacturing, space technology, medicine, entrepreneurship, agriculture and security, little attention was being paid to the ministry to carry out its mandate.
Lar noted that in developed countries, one of the key reasons for their technological advancement is the huge investment in funding science, technology and innovation strategic industries to improve the socioeconomic growth of their countries.
