Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has received six winners of the maiden National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Innovation Assessment and Awards (NIAA).
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Mr Khalil Suleiman Halilu, formally presented the winners from the Inter-Agency and Intra-Agency categories to the SGF.
The NIAA, organised under the theme, “Driving Innovation, Accelerating Industrialisation, Transforming Nigeria,” provided N140 million in development grants to three winning Inter-Agency projects and N22.5 million in cash prizes to three Intra-Agency winners.
Speaking during the presentation, Halilu said the initiative was designed to support, scale and commercialise technological solutions developed by public servants.
He said public servants remained important contributors to Nigeria’s technological advancement, adding that NASENI’s expanding activities, including more than 20 factories being facilitated and over 40 indigenous products developed, were driven by the commitment of workers behind the scenes.
“We realised that civil servants have been the ones behind this very amazing growth.
“That is why we dedicated funds and resources specifically for these innovators who are working hard in public service,” he said.
Halilu said the initiative was anchored on NASENI’s core pillars of Creation, Collaboration and Commercialisation (3Cs), aimed at moving research from laboratories into practical, market-ready solutions.
He said the approach would help address national security, energy and economic challenges.
The Director of Manufacturing Services at NASENI and Chairman of the Innovation Awards Committee, Engr. Dr Olayode A. Olasupo, said 678 users registered on the online submission portal developed by NASENI ICT.
He said 261 complete entries comprising 180 intra-agency and 81 inter-agency submissions were received across areas including engineering design, software development, renewable energy, healthcare and agriculture.
According to him, a two-stage preliminary screening was conducted using computer algorithms for compliance review, followed by expert technical evaluation.
He said 20 finalists, comprising 10 from each category, subsequently advanced to physical pitching at NASENI headquarters.
Olasupo said the finalists defended their technical and commercial propositions before an independent panel of assessors drawn from industry and academia.
He said the process was designed to ensure transparency, fairness and credibility.
Giving details of the rewards, Olasupo said N140 million was approved by the NASENI EVC/CEO as development grants for the top three winning Inter-Agency teams to prototype and scale their products.
He added that N22.5 million was awarded as cash prizes to the top three staff members in the Intra-Agency category.
The Head of the NASENI Innovation Hub, Mrs Busola Perez-Folayan, said the hub would provide the winners with incubation support, business development and investor-matching services.
She said the support would help transform the winning ideas into scalable and commercialised market products.
The first-place winner in the Inter-Agency category was Mr Idowu Ajigbon and his team from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Abuja, for the Tactical Deep Surveillance Wearable Jacket.
The jacket is designed to enhance real-time situational awareness, personnel safety and tactical communication for security agencies.
Mr Temitope Badmus and his team from the Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST), Zaria, emerged second with the Extraction and Development of NILEST-Tan for Leather Industries.
The project seeks to promote local production of leather tanning chemicals and reduce production costs.
Mr Isaac Johnson Ajeh and his team from the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Abuja, took third place with the Valorisation of Plantain Peel Waste project.
The project involves converting agricultural waste into pharmaceutical raw materials through the development and standardisation of high-potency Vitamin C.
In the Intra-Agency category, Mr Yusuf Usman of NASENI headquarters emerged first with NASENI MART, a digital e-commerce platform for Made-in-Nigeria products.
Mr Benjamin Nweke of NASENI ELDI-Awka came second with a solar-powered standalone cooking station designed to provide clean, affordable and reliable cooking energy for food vendors.
Engr. Mikairu Aminu Abu of NASENI NSEL-Karshi emerged third with the design and development of an off-grid solar-powered cassava dryer aimed at improving post-harvest preservation and increasing rural farm incomes.
Receiving the delegation and the innovators, Akume commended NASENI for its leadership and transparent evaluation process.
The SGF also praised the ingenuity demonstrated by the public servants and assured NASENI of the Federal Government’s support to ensure that the home-grown engineering innovations receive the backing needed to contribute to Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
