The Federal Government has inaugurated an Interministerial Committee on Research and Innovation, aimed at strengthening food and energy security while significantly reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imports.
Vice President Kashim Shettima presided over the inauguration ceremony at the State House in Abuja, urging the committee to work towards cutting Nigeria’s import bill by 50 percent.
He emphasized that the initiative reflects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to mobilizing both intellectual and financial resources to drive innovation-led economic growth.
“We are here to breathe life not into this Committee, but into a bold mission: to build Nigeria into an innovation-driven, trillion-dollar economy within a decade. The future we desire is not something we inherit. It is something we build,” Shettima declared.
Outlining the committee’s mandate, the Vice President explained that it would coordinate actions across five transformative sectors. These include agriculture and climate resilience, manufacturing, healthcare innovation, natural resource optimization, and energy security.
He stressed the importance of shifting from dependency to self-sufficiency. “In each of these areas, we will pursue missions, not just metrics. We will not be content with data for dashboards—we want deliverables that change lives. What will it take to reduce our food import bill by 50%? How do we triple local pharmaceutical production? Let us align policy, research, and investment to answer these questions and achieve measurable, meaningful outcomes,” he added.
Shettima further disclosed that the committee’s work is a precursor to the establishment of a Presidential Plenary on Innovation. This annual high-level forum, approved by President Tinubu, will bring together stakeholders from academia, research institutions, industry, and civil society to set and align national innovation priorities.
“This Committee is only the beginning. His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved a Presidential Plenary on Innovation—an annual high-level forum that will bring together academia, research institutes, industry, civil society, and the Nigerian people to align our national innovation priorities. This Plenary will be addressed by Mr President himself, because innovation is a presidential area of priority. It is central to his vision for a new Nigeria,” he explained.
Also speaking at the event, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Uche Nnaji, praised the Vice President’s leadership and highlighted the need for coordinated efforts among government agencies.
“The keyword here is collaboration. We have been spending a lot of money on our various ministries, duplicating our functions. I believe that with this collaboration and this committee here, we will save a lot of money for the government and reduce duplication,” Nnaji stated.
Present at the inauguration were several key government figures, including the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani; as well as Alhaji Balarabe Lawal, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar, and representatives from the Ministries of Education, Budget and Economic Planning, and Foreign Affairs.
