By Godspower Eguasa
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has been commended for deploying science, technology and innovation in leap-frogging the State’s education, health, security and governance sectors to enviable heights.
The Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Holdings Oil and Gas, Osayande Igiehon, gave the commendation while delivering a lecture on Tuesday at the stakeholders’ workshop on science, technology and innovation, in Benin City, the State capital.
Igiehon said: “Edo State has proven to be outstanding amongst other States in the country in terms of technological advancement and innovation, and this is as a result of the consistent effort of Governor Godwin Obaseki towards transforming Edo into a technology hub.”
Specifically, the expert lauded the Obaseki administration’s investment in training and retraining of civil and public servants, the introduction of tablets in public primary schools through the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation program (EdoBEST) and the establishment of an innovation hub in the State amongst others.
The CEO harped on the need for every State to deliberately embrace technology and innovation, noting that any society that does not seek to better its affairs through technology and innovation will not attain greatness.
The guest lecturer assured that if current efforts are sustained by successive governments, Edo would achieve the goal of becoming one of the best places to live and do business.
In his remarks, Obaseki said that his administration has put in place the needed structures that will produce 15,000 software engineers in the next five years for the bourgeoning global information and communication technology space.
The event organized by the Edo State Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation in partnership with Heirs Holdings Oil and Gas, had the theme: “Arousing the Collective views of all for Sustainable Science, Technology and Innovation Policy.”
The objective of the session, according to the organizers, was to develop and implement effective policy on science, technology and innovation through collaboration to achieve the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) agenda of the Obaseki administration.
According to the Governor, the success of every administration is driven by technology and innovation as technology serves as a catalyst to economic growth and productivity in all sectors of the State.
He listed the sectors where science, technology and innovation have been deployed to deliver value to Edo residents to include education, healthcare, governance, security and revenue collection amongst others.
“Life is science and science is the beginning of our life. Science is about technology and we have used technology to drive our administration.
“In the education sector, we have, through our EdoBEST programme, demonstrated that technology is a catalyst to improve learning for our children. Today, I can monitor the activities of teachers in the State through technology.
“My administration has trained over 15,000 teachers, equipping them with tablets to help improve the learning of our children.
“We are also an electricity hub as we operate the CCECC-Ossiomo Power Plant in the State and we will improve on it. If anybody will get it right in Nigeria, it’s Edo State.”
He noted that “The outcome of this deliberation will capture the hopes, aspirations, and yearnings of all stakeholders as we pursue our dreams of Making Edo State Great Again.”
The Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Bartholomew Brai, expressed gratitude to the Governor for his commitment to driving industrialization in the State through science, technology and innovation.
The Commissioner added: “Science, technology and innovation are recognized globally as key drivers of change and development and fuel advancement that move the world forward. The potentials are unquantifiable and if properly harnessed, translate to rapid economic revolution which we are looking forward to in Edo State.”
