NOTAP Saves Nigeria N192bn from Various Interventions in Six Months

By Emma Okonji

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) said it has saved Nigeria a whopping N192 billion from various interventions within a period of six months.

The Director General of NOTAP, Dr. Dan Azumi Ibrahim, who made the disclosure in Lagos recently, also said the agency secure about 38 patents for agencies and private researchers in just 6 months in 2017.

In carrying out its statutory function of registration of technology transfer agreement, Ibrahim said NOTAP saved the country N192 billion between 2010 and 2016, an amount he added, would have left the country as capital flight.
According to him, the agency achieved the feat through refusal to approve for importation of technologies and as well as services that could be rendered by Nigerians.

The Director General revealed some of the challenges the agency faces in the discharge it its functions, and explained that the law that established the agency did not empower it to sanction erring companies and individuals.
”Law establishing NOTAP has no room for sanction. We often rely on certificate denials as a means to check erring companies and individuals,” Ibrahim said.
According to him, “We hope the National Assembly review that law in order to empower NOTAP to sanction and where necessary prosecute anyone or companies that chose to be clever to bypass the agency and bring in technology without properly documented agreement for technology transfer that protect the interest of Nigerians.

As regards accessibility of the entire country to NOTAP, Ibrahim said Lagos Liaison Office is the only NOTAP office outside Abuja head office in addition to the fact that the agency is gradually losing its staff strength.
“When I resumed office two years ago there were more hands than today especially at a time responsibilities are increasing. Formerly, we were 152 staff but now we are about 120. Old and experienced staffare retiring without replacement. There are no budget provisions for employment,” he said.
He, however, noted that NOTAP is forward thinking and the option of Service Automation is high on the agenda of the agency for improved services and to meet up with its responsibilities.

Ibrahim further said: “NOTAP’s Mission statement is to ensure the acceleration of Nigeria’s drive towards a rapid technological revolution by an efficient assimilation/absorption of foreign technology and a concerted development of indigenous technological capability through a proactive commercialization and promotion of locally motivated technologies.”
“We introduced in order to launch Nigeria into the global global technology power brokers, NOTAP with the assistance of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 2006 established Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in some pioneer Nigerian knowledge institutions to first of all create the awareness of the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) protection.”

The Programme was aimed at sensitising and refocusing the minds of Nigerian researchers towards embarking on market and market-driven research rather than engaging in research for purposes of promotion,” Ibrahim added.
He said the programme has triggered demand-driven research and patents have started coming from across the institutions and their results are at the final state of commercialisation.