The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in Nigeria has blocked N192 billion (roughly $535 million) worth of capital flight from leaving the country, according to a report via the Guardian Nigeria.
According to NOTAP, the prevention was thanks to its vigilance and insistence on local content inclusion in information and communication technology (ICT) related businesses and NOTAP’s refusal to approve the importation of technologies and services that could be rendered by Nigerian workers and businesses.
According to a report by the Nigerian Communications Week, Dr. Dan Azumi Ibrahim, Director General (DG), said, that the measure was to ensure the acceleration of Nigeria’s drive towards a rapid technological revolution by an efficient assimilation and/or absorption of foreign technology and a concerted development of indigenous technological capacity through a proactive commercialisation and promotion of locally motivated technologies.
The DG who regretted that about 90% of technologies used in Nigeria are still imported, however, expressed confidence that the situation is improving. He revealed that NOTAP has secured about 38 patents for agencies and private researchers in the first half of 2017. He said the patents were delivered to the researchers’ institutions at no cost to the owners.
“NOTAP is not resting on its oars to ensure the acceleration of Nigeria’s drive towards a rapid technological revolution. In carrying out our statutory function of registration of Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA), we have saved the Country the N192 billion between 2010 and 2016,” concluded Ibrahim.
Edited by Dean Workman
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