Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) and a coalition of non-governmental organisations have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC) Establishment Bill into law before handing over on May 29.
In a written appeal, the ASURI/Civil Society Coalition/Campaign for Research Funding and Strategies for National Transformation told Buhari that NRIC is the vital funding component of the federal government approved National Policy on Science, Technology and Innovation (NPSTI).
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According to the group, NPSTI was initiated in the 1960s as the much-needed institutionalised funding mechanism for research.
Through its letter, dated April 28, the group is asking Buhari “to ensure that he gives Presidential Assent to the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC) Establishment Bill, 2023, before he hands over to the in-coming administration on the 29th May 2023.”
The NRIC Bill, which is awaiting concurrence by the House of Representatives, was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, 21st March. It is being sponsored by Hon Henry Nwawuba.
The letter, signed on behalf of the group by the secretary general of ASURI and convener of the coalition, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, emphasised the role of research to national development.
“Research being the bedrock of scientific and technological development, it is worthy of note that developed nations embrace and fund research adequately. It is also worthy of note that neglect of research by successive administrations in Nigeria is responsible for the comatose state of the nation’s mandate Research and Development Institutes (RDIs) and the present economic woes such as massive unemployment, leading to insurgency, banditry, armed robbery and other numerous overwhelming vices,” it said.
It is believed that NRIC, which the coalition says is a replica of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), will change the narrative whereby Nigeria relies on budgetary allocations alone for funding research.
According to Ndubuaku, the same difference which TETFund is making in funding the tertiary education sector in Nigeria is what NRIC is expected to do in the Research and Development Institutes (RDIs) sector. “This is the magic of institutionalized funding mechanism because what will obtain now is that funding will start coming from taxes and reliance on budgetary allocations alone will reduce substantially,” he stated.
Reminding Buhari of this fact, the coalition’s letter states: “While inaugurating the present Governing Council of NRIC on the 7th of January 2016, barely six months after assuming office, Mr. President, in his capacity as the statutory chairman of NRIC, expressed the hope that with NRIC, Nigeria would soon start producing Nobel Laureates. By this very fact, we are not in doubt that the whole essence of NRIC is not lost on Mr. President. The Council, which consists of the vice president and all ministers whose Ministries supervise Research Institutions, among others, has been meeting regularly,” he said.