NOTAP: Minister lays groundbreaking foundation for NOVA project

In a significant boost to infrastructure and development initiatives, the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (FMIST), Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh SAN, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to technology commercialisation, local content development, industrial competitiveness, and sustainable job creation.

The minister stated this during a visit to the site of the proposed Project NOVA Hub at the headquarters of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).

The visit marks a milestone in the implementation of Project NOVA (Nigeria Outsourcing and Value Acceleration), a flagship initiative envisioned by the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NOTAP, Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, to strengthen Nigeria’s science, technology and innovation ecosystem and accelerate the transformation of research, technology, and indigenous innovation into measurable economic value.

The project is expected to deliver modern facilities and economic opportunities, and is being positioned as a flagship endeavour that will enhance service delivery and create thousands of jobs upon completion.

Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja, the Minister described the initiative as a ‘new dawn’ for the sector. “Today, we are not just laying a foundation of concrete and steel, we are laying the foundation for progress, innovation, and a better future for our people.

He disclosed that more of the hubs will be established across the nation.

Earlier, during her welcome speech, Dr. Amadiobi highlighted that Project NOVA was conceived as a strategic national intervention to address one of Nigeria’s most persistent development challenges: the gap between knowledge creation and economic utilisation.

She noted that while Nigeria continues to produce thousands of research outputs, innovations, and highly skilled professionals annually across multiple sectors of the economy, only a fraction is translated into commercial products, services, enterprises, jobs, and industrial growth.

According to her, Project NOVA is designed to serve as NOTAP’s national commercialisation and delivery platform, creating structured pathways for technology transfer, innovation adoption, enterprise development, workforce competitiveness, and industrial transformation.

Project NOVA, the DG said, is structured around three integrated pillars namely; NOVA of Excellence (CoE), NOVA Catalyst, and NOVA Impact, which together provide a coordinated framework for research commercialisation, intellectual property management, technology transfer, skills acceleration, enterprise competitiveness, and industry collaboration.