By Rosemary Ogbonna
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is translating into tangible projects, jobs, innovation and economic opportunities across the country.
Idris stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during the Presidential Media Team Tour of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
He said the National Renewed Hope Media Tour was designed to give Nigerians firsthand access to projects and programmes being implemented by the Federal Government.
“We want Nigerians to see for themselves how government policies are being translated into tangible projects, jobs, innovation and opportunities. Transparency is strengthened when government institutions actively engage the public, while accountability is enhanced when citizens can independently verify progress,” he said.
Idris described NASENI as a strategic institution driving Nigeria’s industrial transformation through science, engineering and technology, with interventions in local manufacturing, renewable energy, agricultural mechanisation, digital technology and skills development.
According to him, Tinubu’s vision is to build a productive, self-reliant economy anchored on innovation, local value addition and industrial competitiveness.
“Our vision is clear: to move Nigeria from being primarily a consumer nation to becoming a nation of producers, innovators and exporters,” he said.
The Minister noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda places industrialisation, technology and youth empowerment at the centre of national economic transformation, and creates an enabling environment for investment and sustainable job creation.
He commended NASENI’s management and staff for advancing indigenous technology and engineering solutions that are strengthening Nigeria’s productive capacity and reducing dependence on imports.
Idris also praised the Presidential Media Team for supporting the government’s commitment to openness through factual and balanced reporting on key government programmes.
He, thereafter, declared the Presidential Media Team Tour of NASENI open.
Earlier, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the Agency is implementing a practical industrialisation strategy focused on local manufacturing, technology transfer, healthcare innovation and commercialisation of research.
Halilu said NASENI’s interventions now cover eight key industrial sectors, with projects spread across the six geopolitical zones and the FCT.
“Our goal is to build sustainable industries by designing products for the Nigerian market, assembling them locally, gradually increasing local content and creating factories that can compete globally. That is how we have been able to establish more than 20 factories within a short period,” he said.
Dignitaries at the event included the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy; Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Chief Sunday Dare; Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala; Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi; and Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Citizen Engagement.