- ‘Make Your Research Relevant to National Development’
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, has called on the Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research to consistently generate credible knowledge through quality research, specialised training and consultancy services to aid national development.
Udoma gave the charge at a retreat organised by the institute in Ogere, Ogun State on Monday.
He said there was a need for NISER to ensure that its research outcomes had practical relevance to government policy decisions and development programmes.
The minister, according to a statement by his Media Adviser, Akpandem James, reminded participants that NISER was set up to be the premier think tank and economic research institute for the country, and was expected to consistently generate credible knowledge through quality researches.
According to him, the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan promises a rapidly growing economy with diversified sources of growth, increased opportunities and a socially inclusive economy that reduces poverty and creates jobs.
While noting that the implementation of the policy initiatives outlined in the ERGP had started yielding results as evident in the economy exiting recession in the second quarter of this year, he pointed out that a lot remained to be done to sustain the tempo of recovery by rapidly growing the economy.
He pointed out that no nation could truly attain great heights without well-grounded research findings that could guide policymakers in their decision-making.
“The basis of any knowledge society is constant innovation and new discoveries, which can only come through sound research. There is a close connection between the utilisation of research outcomes and the pace of a nation’s socio-economic development,” Udoma added.
The Director-General, NISER, Dr. Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, explained that the objective of the retreat was to critically discuss how to reposition and reinvigorate the institute for effective delivery of its mandate.
He pledged the readiness of members of the management to rededicate themselves to fulfilling the mandate of the institute and to raise the visibility and impact of their work.
