The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has empowered 250 rural residents in Abia State as part of efforts to equip communities with practical skills and promote sustainable livelihoods.

KHALIL SULEIMAN HALILU

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has taken its Sustainable Empowerment Programme (NSEP) to Ohafia, Abia State, empowering more than 250 residents with tools and technologies to improve productivity, create livelihoods and stimulate economic development at the grassroots.

The beneficiaries received the intervention on Thursday at Uma Ukpai Memorial Primary School, Asaga, Ohafia, where NASENI Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the programme demonstrated the agency’s commitment to taking science, technology and engineering directly to the people.

Halilu said the initiative was designed to ensure that innovations developed by NASENI translated into practical solutions capable of improving lives and strengthening communities.

According to him, taking the programme to rural Ohafia, despite the challenges involved, underscored NASENI’s commitment to giving Nigerians across the country opportunities to participate in the emerging innovation-driven economy, particularly at the grassroots.

Describing Abia as a strategic location for the intervention, Halilu highlighted the state’s reputation for enterprise, creativity, manufacturing and value creation, saying these attributes aligned with NASENI’s new strategic direction of creation, collaboration and commercialisation.

He disclosed that the agency was moving beyond research conducted primarily for its own purposes to developing solutions that could be adopted by individuals, businesses and industries.

Halilu said NSEP was therefore designed to provide beneficiaries with resources that would enable them to become more productive, build sustainable livelihoods and contribute meaningfully to economic development.

He urged the beneficiaries to regard the intervention as an investment in their productive capacity rather than a handout, and to deploy the support profitably and responsibly.

According to him, doing so would improve their livelihoods, create value and potentially generate opportunities for others.

The NASENI chief executive, however, warned that the agency would monitor the impact of its interventions, stressing that the success of the programme would not be measured solely by the number of events held or items distributed.

Rather, he said NASENI would assess its performance by the number of lives improved, businesses strengthened, jobs supported and communities made more productive.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr Armstrong Ume, who also spoke at the event, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, for their commitment to infrastructure development and community empowerment.

Ume also commended Tinubu for appointing Halilu as NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, saying the President had consistently encouraged public officials given the opportunity to serve to make meaningful contributions to their communities.

He thanked Halilu for accepting the invitation to Ohafia and expressed confidence that the NASENI intervention would expose residents to science and technology that could enhance their entrepreneurial activities and productivity.