24th September, 2012
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Monday inaugurated the state Research and Development Council with an initial working grant of N200 million, about $1.2million.
Fashola said the council was constituted to generate ideas that would enrich government policies and offer solutions to some of the state’s major challenges.
He said it was created to address the problem of poor funding of research in Nigeria and to create a platform for people with ideas to make positive impact on the society.
The members of the 10-man council include Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo and Prof. Olumide Olusanya of the University of Lagos and Prof. Olufemi Bamiro of the University of Ibadan.
“One of the things we set out to do from the outset of this administration was to have a government driven by methods and processes.
“A government that would implement only programmes that have been empirically proven to be workable and necessary and not what we feel like doing.
“At the heart of the government has been the process of research, development and innovation, and that can be seen in the many of the day-to-day decisions that we have taken in our public life.
“The Security Trust Fund is one of them. The Rice for Jobs initiative is another, the conversion of graduates in various disciplines to teachers of core subjects in our schools is also one of our innovative policies. “
Fashola said there was the need for Nigeria to fund and encourage research in tertiary institutions, saying this would help to create a pool of ideas for the development of the country.
He said government would continue to tap the potential of research to further the development of the state.
Bamiro, on behalf of other members, commended the governor for constituting the council, saying the step showed that he was serious about the development of the state.
He pledged that members would do their best to justify the confidence reposed in them.