The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has touted nuclear science as a crucial ingredient for national development, given its application in health, agriculture, security and education.
Onu said this while speaking to members of the African Atomic Energy Liaison Officers who visited him in his office in Abuja.
He added that Africa, as the second largest continent in the world, needs to pay more attention to the application of science, technology and innovation to meet up with other developed continents.
He further said that Nigeria is very much interested in nuclear science as a means of tackling some of the challenges facing her in electricity and her drive towards industrialisation.
Also, the minister said some of the ministry’s policies are leading the transformation of the country’s economy from commodity to knowledge-based and adding value to the nation’s natural resources and reducing the importation in the country.
Earlier, the director, technical cooperation, International Atomic Energy, Shaukat Abdulrazak, said that nuclear science plays a pivotal role in the development of any nation.
He further added that countries that have advanced globally embrace science, technology and innovation for socio-economic development.
