By Oluwakemi Kindness
The House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology has threatened legislative action against the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu-Udeh, over his failure to attend a public hearing on the proposed National Research and Innovation Development Fund.
The committee accused the minister and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary of undermining President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to establish the Fund, warning that their absence could frustrate the passage of the executive-sponsored bill, HB 2821.
The lawmakers expressed their displeasure on Thursday, noting that the ministry, which has direct responsibility for implementing the proposed legislation, failed to send any representative to the public hearing.
A committee member, Ahmed Usman Jaha, representing Chibok, Damboa and Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno State, described the ministry’s absence as unacceptable and a setback to the cordial relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Jaha said it was inappropriate for a ministry directly connected to a presidentially sponsored bill to stay away from deliberations on such an important national initiative.
He explained that the proposed Fund would provide a sustainable financing framework for research institutions while enabling Nigeria to attract grants and investments from international development partners, donor agencies and Nigerians in the diaspora.
Jaha disclosed that the committee had invited the Ministers of Justice, Education, Environment, Agriculture and Food Security, Health, Livestock Development, and Industry, Trade and Investment, alongside other relevant stakeholders, but none attended.
He expressed particular concern that an international stakeholder who travelled from Kenya honoured the invitation while the ministry responsible for the bill failed to appear.
The lawmaker said the committee had given the minister and Permanent Secretary another opportunity to appear before the conclusion of the public hearing.
He warned that failure to honour the invitation would compel lawmakers to raise a motion of urgent public importance before the House.
Earlier, the committee chairman, Zakariya Zannah, called for sustainable funding, transparent governance and independent grant allocation mechanisms to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of the proposed Fund.
He said Nigeria possessed the research expertise and intellectual capacity to drive innovation but lacked a dependable legal and institutional framework to finance research and transform discoveries into commercially viable products.
Zannah urged stakeholders to carefully scrutinise the bill’s funding provisions, particularly the proposed 20 per cent contribution from the Nigerian Content Development Fund and the provision limiting administrative expenditure to 2.5 per cent, to guarantee accountability and effective utilisation of resources.
The Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, represented by the Deputy House Leader, Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, described the proposed legislation as critical to Nigeria’s economic development, technological advancement and global competitiveness.
He called for transparent, accountable and merit-based allocation of research grants, warning against political interference in the management of the Fund.
Tajudeen said the proposed National Council on Research and Innovation, to be chaired by the Vice-President, would coordinate national research priorities, ensure sustainable funding and promote the commercialisation of research findings.
He urged the committee to make research funding accessible to universities, polytechnics, specialised research institutions, emerging technology businesses and independent innovators, stressing that Nigeria must move beyond academic research to an innovation-driven economy that connects discoveries with investment, industry and sustainable economic growth.
