The Federal Government has expressed the desire to work with the nation’s leading indigenous computer manufacturer, OMATEK, to make available made-in-Nigeria computers to educational institutions across the country, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said.
Aganga said that the partnership was in line with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and the Local Patronage Initiative of the Ministry of Trade and Investment.
He spoke during his official visit to Omatek Computers Limited factory, in Lagos, on recently.
“We will be able to achieve the much needed linkage between our abundant natural resources and the application of appropriate technology and production processes through the application of ICT in our Schools and Industries. We are therefore, designing a strategy for a workable partnership between Government, Omatek and the Banks to make available your Made-in-Nigeria Computers to all our Schools and Colleges”, the Minister said.
While acknowledging the giant strides so far made by the company, especially in pioneering local production of computers, the Minister assured local manufacturers of the Federal Government’s support and commitment towards providing an enabling environment for their businesses to flourish.
He said, “I am delighted that this ongoing success story is being championed by a woman of high entrepreneurial repute in the person of Engr. (Mrs.) Florence Seriki. Partnering with Government to actualise the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan is indeed a noble initiative.
“Let me re-iterate here that the Federal Government’s Transformation Agenda is a project which recognizes the need to consciously nurture Nigerian industries in the quest for a sound economy developed on the back of industrial growth. We are therefore assuring Omatek of the necessary support all the way.”
Aganga noted that Government would continue to strengthen its partnership with the private sector in order to realise the objective of the NIRP.
He said, “We have done a lot to remove the bottlenecks in the business environment and the positive results are already manifesting in terms of a friendlier business environment (Nigeria is the preferred destination for investment in Africa – UNCTAD), and an enhanced industrial capacity utilization. Recent figures from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reveal that the capacity utilization in the textile sector, for instance, has increased significantly from 29.14 per cent in 2010 to 49.70 per cent as at 2011.
“We are not yet where we want to be, but we shall get there. What Government needs is the right collaboration with sound private sector operators who are always on the drawing board, thinking outside the box, in their bid to give back to the society. Omatek surely falls within this productive group.”