By Angeline Mgbele, Bureau Chief, North
The Senate Committee on National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has commended the Agency for championing local content development of Solar-Powered smart irrigation, tricycles, electric motorbikes and others with accelerated technology transfer.
This is borne in a press statement e-signed by the Director, Information and Protocol at NASENI, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan.
As per the press statement, the Chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi who led other members of the Committee on oversight function visit to NASENI Headquarters, Abuja on Monday February 26, 2024, expressed satisfaction, while being conducted by the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu round some of the NASENI products and facilities.
Other products inspected include animal feed processing machines and NASENI transformers, electric motorcycles and tricycles as well as the NASENI home and irrigation solar systems.
According to Senator Onyewuchi, “The committee is quite pleased with the level of progress and we want to assure NASENI of the support of the National Assembly to make sure that agency drives effectively the vision of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in this area and I want to also thank them for making Nigeria go green, moving from fuel to non-fossil products, it is quite commendable. We are quite pleased and we want to encourage them to do more.”
According to the committee members, who spoke separately, with the NASENI home solar and the electric bikes, local businesses would be enhanced, the economy of the country would improve, adding that urban and rural areas power challenges would be overcome if NASENI solar system was mass produced.
Mr. Halilu said some NASENI products would be ready in the second quarter of this year, adding that the Agency was establishing a Technology Transfer Hub within its headquarters to bring eco-friendly technologies closer to people and to make it affordable both on short and long term basis.
“We promised Nigerians that by the first quarter of this year, they are going to be seeing NASENI products and today, you have witnessed three products-the solar irrigation system, which is like a generator, but completely solar and batteries and the second one is our electronic motorcycle and tricycle (Keke) and the last one being the solar home system where you can power your entire house off-grid,” Halilu said.
“You will soon start seeing NASENI branded products in our efforts to build a national brand for the country and of course, if you are doing commercial viable products, they have to be affordable to the common man and very soon, you will start seeing them in the market,” he added.
Other lawmakers who made the trip include Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Senator Aminu Iya Abbas; Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI, Sen. Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo; Member, Senate Committee on NASENI, Sen. David Jimkura; Chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI, Sen. Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi; Member, Senate Committee on NASENI, Sen. Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli; and Sen. Abdullaziz Musa Yar’Adua.
