Federal Government to unveil national development plan soon.

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo,  said in Awka on Monday that the Federal Government would soon unveil its national development plan with emphasis on infrastructure development.

Nebo said this in a keynote address at the Second Memorial Lecture in honour of late Prof. Gordian Ezekwe organised by the Faculty of Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

The theme of the lecture was: Engineering for Sustainable Development.

According to Nebo, previous industrial developmental initiatives of government failed due to lack of infrastructure.

He contended that technological advancement and discoveries by leading Nigerian scientists like Ezekwe were not utilised for national growth, especially after the end of the civil war.

“If Nigeria failed to master, domesticate, and consolidate previous technological foundations, how can she advance and cope with current high-tech trends in the context of global competitiveness realties?”

The minister said if the proposed plan was well implemented, it would address some of the nation’s infrastructure inadequacies and unlock the gateway to sustainable economic development.

The Dean, Faculty of Engineering of the university, Prof. Philo Igbokwe, said the essence of the inaugural series was to remember the contributions of Ezekwe to the field of engineering.

Igbokwe said the faculty would build on the legacies of Ezekwe by turning out engineers that would take the country to greater heights.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Boniface Egboka, lauded the exploits of the late scientist.

Egboka, represented by Dean of Post Graduate School, Prof. Okechukwu Anike, said Nigeria needed to identify its technological and scientific gaps.

According to Egboka, the gaps should be filled with adequate funding and corrective policies for the growth and development of the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ezekwe, a civil war veteran, hailed from Abagana in Anambra.

He was instrumental to the first made in Nigeria bomb named “Ogbunigwe.’’

He was also Minister of Science and Technology during President Ibrahim Babangida’s administration, Director of PRODA and lectured in several universities. (Source-Daily Independent Nigeria)