Dr Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation on Thursday said that there won’t be policy summersault with the incoming administration.
Mamora said this when he launched the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) GEO-Nigeria, organised by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)on Wednesday in Abuja.
GEO is an intergovernmental partnership that improves the availability, access and use of Earth Observations (EO) data for a sustainable planet.
“The good thing is that the government that will be sworn-in in few days’ time is a government whose parents remain the same party.
“The issue of continuity is there, we are very confident that a lot of things that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had put in place will continue.
“We are not likely to have policy summersault which has been the bane of our advancement,’’ Mamora said.
He also said that the outgoing administration was already liaising with the incoming one to share handover notes and ensure continuity.
The minister lauded GEO-Nigeria, saying, “the government will keep supporting it to ensure that data was made available for informed decisions in government.”
Prof. Babatunde Rabiu, the Focal Person of GEO-Nigeria on the implementation of GEO action plan, said there was an existing template being used by other GEO bodies across the globe.
Rabiu said that they intended to practice an inclusive system, where users, findings, policy makers and legislative bodies would be greatly impacted by their activities.
“We intend to have roundtable discussions, town hall meetings, outreaches to practice high level of information dissemination.
“We will be using the social media and all available means to promote applications of EO satellite data for effective governance,’’ he said.
Rabiu said that in terms of funding, Nigerian government was presently sponsoring their activity.
Rabiu, however, said, there were some funds reserved in GEO international secretariat where they organise capacity buildings for young ones.
He added: “We intend to attract pool of funds from international bodies to complement what we are doing.
“We are going to bring together users of EO satellite data in such a way that we can reduce the cost, share resources and promote intergovernmental cooperation for effective governance.”
Dr Fikta Bilshakka, President, Geo-Information Society of Nigeria (GEOSON), said that technology was transcending so fast and EO posed a solution to the mirage of the nation’s problems.
Bilshakka said that with EO data, national problems could be reduced by 50 per cent including national security.
He said there was need to consistently create awareness for people to be informed on the benefits of GEO-Information and the correct use of EO satellite data.
Bilshakka called for more political will by the government on the use of EO satellite data, adding the technocrats lacked the financial power.
Highlight of the event was the unveiling of the GEO-Nigeria mascot.