National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has developed a software data base to capture and provide information on the profile and competence of Nigerian professionals in the area of science, Engineering, technology and related fields.
At the presentation of the software in Abuja, Dr DanAzumi Mohammed, director-general of NOTAP, said the move was part of efforts to actualise the presidential order no. 5, which mandated that Nigerian professionals are given preference in the award of contracts.
The Executive Order no.5 was signed by president Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 to ensure that Nigerian professionals and companies are considered first in the award of contract in-line with the public procurement Act 2007.
It said foreign professionals could be considered only when such expertise was not available in the country as at the time the contract was awarded and ensure the capacities and competencies of Nigerian professionals are build in the process.
According to the NOTAP DG, the aim of the Order is to make the economy of the country sustainable through the instrumentality of Science, technology and innovation.
Dr Mohammed reiterated that NOTAP is mandated to sort for local skilled manpower in science, technology and innovation.
To actualise the mandate, the Agency engaged an indigenous IT firm called Cagewox Dot Net Limited to develop the database that could carry out the responsibility of capturing and reporting profiles of Nigerian professionals, he said.
Before now, he continued, managing and reporting profiles of competencies of over a million Nigerian professionals at home and abroad had been quite challenging, and stressed that the database platform would address the inadequacies as it contributes its quota to national development.
Dr Mohammed therefore called on media professionals to collaborate with the Agency to ensure that innovative and qualified Nigerian professionals were abreast of the platform for maximum profit.
He announced that the database platform will be launched soon.
