Aiming to enhance the adoption of alternative fuel sources and reduce dependence on petrol and diesel, Prince Adeleke, the CEO of Adeayworld Energy, revealed that the company has already secured a deal with Zhejiang Sinray Electronics Co. Ltd, a leading Chinese manufacturer of CNG kits. 

He assured that the kits would meet international standards and have been certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) after rigorous evaluation.

“Adeayworld Energy Limited has since signed a partnership with Zhejiang Sinray Electronics Co. Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers of CNG kits in China. The aim is to ensure that kits of international standard are manufactured and distributed across Nigeria. The Chinese company and its kits have also been approved by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in line with the International Standard Organisation (ISO) after rigorous assessment,” Adeleke stated.

The collaboration aligns with the federal government’s Presidential Initiative on CNG (P-ICNG), which seeks to promote cleaner energy sources and lessen the financial burden of fuel costs on Nigerians. With the increase in the availability of CNG kits, the initiative aims to enhance fuel efficiency, support economic diversification, and reduce carbon emissions.

According to Khalil Halilu, executive vice-chairman of NASENI, the partnership with Adeayworld Energy Limited is a big step in expanding Nigeria’s energy infrastructure. He noted the economic and environmental benefits of transitioning to CNG, describing it as a practical and necessary solution in the country’s energy sector.

“The partnership with NASENI will significantly scale the adoption of CNG technology in Nigeria. It will not only enhance the profitability of participating businesses but contribute to the success of the presidential initiative on CNG,” Halilu said.

Beyond its ability to boost the economy, this initiative is expected to create jobs, improve energy security, and make CNG more accessible and affordable for businesses and individual consumers. 

The introduction of locally manufactured CNG kits will also reduce the cost of vehicle conversions, making it easier for transport operators to switch from petrol and diesel to natural gas.

Earlier this year, the government announced plans to collaborate with private companies to establish a CNG kit manufacturing hub in Ajaokuta, Kogi State. Again, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and its private sector partners recently launched the construction of five mini-gas plants, which will collectively supply 97 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. 

These are all part of the Gas Revolution Agenda (GRA), aimed at making Nigeria a leading company in the natural gas sector.

The agency, established in 1992, continues to make progress in Nigeria’s technological advancement, driving home-grown innovation and improving manufacturing capabilities.

While playing this role, NASENI has successfully developed more than 150 innovative products as well as prototypes bolstered by its Development Institutes and Centres, thus contributing to fostering excellence in science, engineering technology and manufacturing.

Commendable so far, however, the NASENI’s socio-economy trajectories or real-time impacts in the country, its previous challenges included lack of patronage of its technologies and products by local entrepreneurs or businesses, exacerbated by low R&D results commercialization activities, leaving most research outcomes to waste away on shelves.

True, NASENI always could boast of having various innovative products but it had very weak linkage with Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) or big corporations whose day-to-day activities required the use of various technologies, machines and equipment already developed by the agency.

As this particular challenge persisted over the years, then came on Monday 4^th September 2023 a new executive Vice Chairman/chief executive, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead NASENI. It is good to note that the President Tinubu himself is the Chairman of the Governing Board of NASENI in line with the agency’s establishment Act 2004.

Immediately on assumption of office, Halilu like a man who knew where the proverbial shoes pinched the most brought a dramatic management change of focus towards full commercialization of NASENI’s resources, to make available in the market and also end users its R&D products, machines and other equipment to boost the economy.

NASENI today stands as a beacon of hope for Nigeria’s indigenous technological advancement, aligning with its core mission of fostering needed dynamic science and engineering Infrastructure for national progress.

The agency under the leadership of Halilu has articulated a bold vision and promoted a shared management-staff philosophy hinged on 3Cs principles of Creation, Collaboration and Commercialization to fuel Nigeria’s innovation and sustainable future.

This approach has indeed opened more doors to result-based NASENI’s partnerships with both national and international corporate communities.

Inspired by previous experience as a techpreneur and businessman before his appointment to lead NASENI, Halilu’s leadership model is to do everything to conserve resources, avoid duplication of efforts, and shorten go-to-market time. What this means is that wherever NASENI finds serious partners who are already operating in areas of interest, it will work with them to improve the agency’s products and take these products to the market. As a government agency, Halilu said NASENI under him is not out to compete with the private sector.

Instead, the agency will serve as partners and enablers, helping the private sector to achieve everything from design to testing, or helping companies in scaling-up production capacity and to seek out new markets.”

As a result of this strategy, within a space of one year the agency had unveiled to the general public some branded technological products manufactured in collaboration with its partners.

They included solar irrigation systems, electric vehicles (ranging from tricycles to motorcycles), NASENI home solar system, animal feed milling machines, laptop, smartphone, solar street lamp and lithium battery. All these efforts were geared towards creating jobs and to reduce import bills.

Halilu brought a mix of deep private sector experience and working knowledge of the public sector, amassed from delivering high-impact technology and digital solutions across both sectors.

In the private sector, before his sojourn in NASENI, Khalil Halilu had founded two start-ups-Shap shap technologies Limited, a Nigerian logistics start up focusing on the last-mile delivery market, as well as Africa’s first on-demand commodity marketplace, an innovation incubator and the CANs-the first eco-friendly Technology Hub in West Africa.

In his consulting work, Halilu built and deployed solutions tailored to improve the quality of government-citizen engagement, election monitoring including support for victims of gender-based violence amongst others.

In September 2023, Halilu hit the ground running with the launching of a NASENI Strategic Launchpad which simplified attainable goals concerning the mandate, vision, mission and operations of the Agency into short, medium and long-term plans. Secondly, he changed the NASENI corporate logo to portray a predominant blue colour to reflect the agency’s operational affinity with the private sector or the business world. Halilu introduced a well thought out corporate plan called ‘strategic Launchpad’ which outlined four pillars that encapsulated the agency’s vision namely: Enhancing Nigeria’s Manufacturing Capacity, Reducing Nigeria’s Import Dependency through Research and Development, Strategically Repositioning NASENI and Leveraging the Comparative Advantages of Nigeria’s 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.

Halilu’s philosophy on the need for a strategic plan before getting down to business was in line with the popular adage that “he who fails to plan, has planned to fail already”. The NASENI strategic document amongst others clarified in simple languages the mandate, objectives, targets and achievable goals of the agency within a stipulated or achievable time-frames, taking into account the factors of human, material and other resources given to the agency by the Federal Government. So far, the document has provided an effective guide for deployment of resources, its optimization and measurements leading to all the achievements which everyone now could see or touch.

The past 12 months: NASENI had deliberately signed critical Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with local and international partners aimed at advancing Nigeria’s economic growth and development. Some of them include a $150 million deal with Schenzen LEMI Technology Development Company Ltd to establish a lithium battery manufacturing and processing factory in Nigeria.

It signed agreements with three other Chinese companies for new projects valued at $2 billion. They include Shanghai Launch Automotive Technical Co Ltd – to establish a new energy automobile facility for the production of new energy electric vehicles; China Great Wall Industry Corporation-for the turnkey delivery of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) assembly line projects; and Newway Power Technology Company Ltd-for the transfer of technology on lithium batteries, electric vehicles and allied technologies.

Others are: Galaxy Backbone Ltd to support NASENI’s High Performance Computing 2.0 projects; Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to provide technical support assistance and expertise using home grown renewable energy technologies; and PT Saputra Global Harvest of Indonesia to establish coal-based fertilizer plants in Nigeria. NASENI had signed MoU with Nasarawa State Government and Bobtrack Tractors to establish a tractor assembly and production factory at its Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute (AMEDI), Lafia to enhance food security; the Ministry of Defence and DICON to establish an ammunition production factory; a $21.7 million counterpart funding with the Technical Agency of the Czech Republic (TA-CR) for take-off of Delta-2 Projects; Niger State government for Agric mechanization; Family Homes Funds Ltd for affordable housing development; and Caverton Helicopters for the establishment of a drone assembly plant, a drone training school, and a service centre for helicopters; amongst other agreements.

NASENI is also collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to deploy existing technical competencies and exchange of resources by the two institutions to improve Agro-allied-industries development targets, climate change mitigations and smart solar irrigation aimed at dry-season farming. These partnerships will have a profound impact, generating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Nigeria’s economic growth, agricultural sector, food security, and renewable energy development. The efforts have no doubt positioned NASENI as a catalyst for Nigeria’s economic transformation, driving progress in critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, housing, energy, transportation, ICT and manufacturing.

The entry of Mr. Khalil S. Halilu has brought into the agency many strategic infrastructure development projects, including cutting-edge research facilities and technology hubs installed at NASENI headquarters and its development institutes. He has revitalised partnerships with local and international stakeholders, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, innovative initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic growth.

He has not left any stone unturned in contributing to the promotion of the green energy initiative of the Federal Government and mitigation of climate change.  His recent partnership with Portland Gas Limited resulted in the establishment of NASENI-Portland CNG Conversion and Training Centre at Utako, Abuja which has raised the bar of sustainable alternative fuel solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save fuel costs for vehicle owners.

Also, Halilu did not neglect the issue of staff welfare and human capital development. Notable achievements in this area were the introduction of enhanced staff welfare package and training programmes including capacity building initiatives described as unprecedented.

As at today, there is no staff of NASENI (from low to highest ranks) who have not attended one form of training or the other within the range of local and international trainings to improve work performance; inspiring a new mindsets and attitudes to work even as he is deliberately engineering new NASENI generation scientists, engineers, and innovators including other support staff to dream big for the agency.

This new trend of focusing on staff development has created a renewed sense of purpose and optimism by the entire workforce.

Many staff are saying that “it is a new NASENI indeed under the leadership of Khalil Suleiman Halilu as executive vice chairman and chief executive”

The NASENI family now is cultivating a culture of innovation, emphasizing continuous training and skill development to meet global standards and also to produce world-class products. This commitment to leveraging NASENI’s capabilities and fostering a culture of innovation has positioned it to make a substantial impact in Nigeria and beyond.

As NASENI continues to move ahead with Nigeria’s technological advancements and infrastructure development focus, the impacts on the economy will be profoundly felt soon.

With focus on innovation, collaboration, and transformative leadership, the agency is set to make remarkable differences in shaping Nigeria’s technological landscapes toward economic prosperity.

Exciting times lie ahead for NASENI as it continues on its forward-looking paths to propel innovation and economic growth for Nigeria under Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu as NASENI CEO.

It’s truly a remarkable one year of renewed hope, 365 days of giant strides and transformation of the agency.

*Olusegun Ayeoyenikan is the Director of Information, NASENI. He writes from the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

The EVC stated this while declaring open one-day sensitization workshop on Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) policy and guidelines for financial managers of NASENI in collaboration with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) held at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

The workshop was aimed at enhancing financial management practices for NASENI principal officers, directors, managing directors and accounting officers system-wide.

Urging the participants to take the workshop with all sense of purpose, the EVC/CEO called for accurate financial record-keeping and the adoption of innovative processes which remain integral in the GIFMIS policy.

He stressed the significance of staff training and capacity development to ensure the discharge of duties to make NASENI a preferred public sector employer in Nigeria.

While warning staff on classified documents, Mr. Halilu said confidentiality in financial management is a crucial aspect and called for strict adherence to public service regulations regarding the integrity of official information.

He further emphasized the Agency’s 3Cs initiative of Collaboration, Creation, and Commercialization as NASENI’s core operating principles, expressing confidence in achieving the Agency’s goals in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Mr. Jeremiah Asanato, the deputy programmes manager, System Support and Sustainability Directorate, OAGF, giving overview of the GIFMIS, said it is aimed at integrating budgeting and government expenditure.

He emphasized that the policy will help to address irregularities, corruption, and other fraudulent activities in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

In his vote of thanks, Alh. Ibrahim Dauda, coordinating director, Finance and Accounts, NASENI, appreciated all Finance and Accounts Directorate staff from across NASENI centres system-wide for attending the workshop.

He challenged them to start thinking of making NASENI an independent revenue-generating agency.

He stated this as he began receiving briefings from the Managing Directors of the Agency’s ten (10) Development Institutes, situated in Enugu, Minna, Awka, Okene, Nnewi, Kano, Jalingo, Akure, Ilesha and Nasarawa.

According to Halilu,

“Our Institutes are the engines of NASENI’s innovation and these briefings by each Institute are critical as we work together to craft the future of NASENI, as it relates to delivering on the President’s socio-economic agenda.”

In addition to the Managing Directors, Team Leads of various NASENI projects, as well as the Agency’s Research Directors, also made presentations to the EVC on their various projects and efforts.

The briefings, which commenced on Monday September 18, 2023, are taking place ahead of the EVC’s planned tour of NASENI facilities across the institutes scheduled to commence in October.

Also on Tuesday, September 19, the EVC/CEO inaugurated a Committee to look into staff welfare, as part of steps to fulfil his pledge, upon assuming office, to ensure that NASENI becomes “a public sector employer of choice in Nigeria.”

The EVC tasked the Committee—made up exclusively of middle-level and junior staff of NASENI—with producing a Human Resources (HR) revamp plan for NASENI. According to the EVC, “Our junior staff are indeed the ones on the frontlines of our work, bearing the biggest burdens, and therefore deserving of special attention, support and welfare.”

To round off the week, the EVC/CEO paid a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, on Friday September 22, at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja.

Commenting on the meeting, which discussed opportunities for collaboration in advancing research in methanol production, lithium mining, and natural medicine, the EVC/CEO said, both institutions were “keen to jointly commercialize existing research outputs,” adding that “I have no doubt that NASENI has a strong and committed partner, in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.”

Also on Friday, Halilu met with a young Nigerian innovator based in Maiduguri, Borno State, Mustapha Gajibo, who specializes in converting petrol-fired vehicles to use gas and solar energy.

“There’s no limit to what young Nigerians can achieve in science and technology, and at NASENI we want to be a part of these inspiring stories from every corner of the country,” said the EVC/CEO.

This statement was contained in a speech delivered by Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), at the Innovation Support Network (ISN) 2023 Annual Gathering with the theme “Unlocking Potential: Collaborating for Growth and Impact’’ at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja.

Inuwa emphasised that the tech industry thrives on collaboration and over 60% of global innovation now involves some form of cross-organisational collaboration.

“A 2020 report by Microsoft indicates that over 95% of Fortune 500 companies rely on Microsoft Cloud services, illustrating how digital collaboration is driving business operations and innovation.” DG NITDA noted.

The Director General who was represented at the event by Yakubu Musa, the National Coordinator, Office of the Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), added that collaboration is the leading competitive edge across all spheres of socioeconomic activities, and this year’s annual gathering is to encourage and strengthen collaboration towards assisting innovators in discovering innovative and efficient solutions to the various problems confronting us in the economic, social, and political/governance realms.

He further revealed that technological advancements help societies to develop interconnected networks of cooperation which helps to accomplish more and improve the quality of life, thus allowing us to use these platforms to access ecosystems, talents, and information that are democratizing knowledge.

Furthermore, the DG said, ”these statistics are indicative of the fact that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, interdependent, and collaborative. Therefore, collaboration is no longer an option, but a necessity for progress and growth.”

He stated that recognising collaboration as the dominant component for the digital transformation of the economy, the Director General noted that, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is unrelenting in its promotion of an environment suitable for all stakeholders to collaboratively grow and impact the digital innovation ecosystem.

He added that the role of the Agency is manifested through various enabling policies, guidelines, and strategies.

“Through strategic local and international relationships, NITDA has continued to work towards the realization of its overarching mandates. And, through numerous collaborative efforts, we have co-created enabling policies and regulatory instruments, as well as implemented programmes and initiatives for the sustainable development of Nigeria’s digital economy.”

He argued that in order to deepen our collaboration with the ecosystem, two Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), the Office for Nigerian Innovation (ONDI) and the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) were established.

And through these SPVs, there have been collaborations with relevant stakeholders in implementing programmes such as the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme, the iHatch Startup Incubation Programme, amongst others.

Inuwa expressed his confidence in NITDA ’s collaborative efforts to foster creativity and innovation to help the entrepreneurs catalyze digital innovation and entrepreneurship in all its ramifications.

He urged the public and private sector stakeholders to join the organizers of the annual gathering to avail themselves of the opportunities to collaborate and support the establishment of a prosperous and sustainable digital innovation ecosystem.

Leena Pylvänäinena, the Finland Ambassador to Nigeria, stated that as one of the top 10 most innovative countries in the world and as a small country, collaboration is key for success in any area.

Pylvänäinena reiterated that “there is much more that can be done in terms on partnerships and collaboration between Finnish Startup and Innovation Community and Nigerian startup community”.

Khalil Halilu, the Executive Vice Chairman NASENI, in his remark, asserted that ISN was a product of collaboration, stating that working together is key in achieving progress, creating solutions to the most pressing challenges facing us, producing technological innovations and for creating jobs and wealth.

Mr Khalil Halilu, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and Mr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, the Managing Director/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), have agreed to work together to deploy NASENI Solar resources and other renewable energy technologies, to increase electricity supply to Nigeria’s rural areas.

This commitment was the outcome of discussions between the two chief executives in Abuja on Friday September 15, 2023, when the EVC/CEO of NASENI visited the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) office as part of his efforts to engage with stakeholders to promote the adoption of NASENI’s technologies.  

Mr. Halilu, who assumed office two weeks ago as NASENI’s chief executive, said, “The focus is to hit the ground running by nurturing effective collaborations with the right stakeholders who will assist NASENI to fulfil its mandate of providing the science and engineering infrastructure base for Nigeria’s businesses and economy to thrive.” 

According to him, “The strategy, going forward, for NASENI includes knocking on the doors of potential end-users of the Agency’s technology and engineering products, making off-take of our Research & Development (R&D) easy, while also bringing the direct impact of our work to bear on the Nigerian economy.”

The two chief executives pledged to work together to bring down the cost of solar power installation in rural areas, through efforts such as increased local production of solar panels by NASENI. The overall goal, according to the REA MD, Ahmad Salihijo, is to facilitate the Federal Government’s ambition to achieve the electrification of Nigeria’s rural areas in record time.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Halilu visited the Director General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, on a similar mission. The two CEOs emphasized the need to look inward and develop local content (human and material) capacity to transform the economy.

Halilu sought to leverage on the long-standing relationship between himself and the NITDA boss, and between the two organisations, to share experiences and best practices in management and in resource optimization.

Abdullahi disclosed that NITDA’s strategy of focusing on changing both the mind-sets and skill sets of its staff are two critical factors that have helped the Agency achieve up to 62 percent of its goals and objectives within two (2) years, ahead of its four (4) year projection.

He noted that the same approach would work for NASENI, if there were well-thought-out strategic plan, and clarity of vision and goals.

Mr. Khalil Halilu, the new Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), has charged the management team to commit fully to the new direction being charted for the agency.

Halilu stated this Monday, as he began receiving operational briefings from the agency’s management and senior staff, according to a statement signed by Segun Ayeoyenikan, Director, Information of NASENI.

He reiterated that under his watch, NASENI will run an open-door system that welcomes ideas and suggestions.

“We will learn from all mistakes of the past and make adjustments that will be included in our strategic plans for the future. We are not here to witch-hunt anyone, or live in the past,” he stated.

During his inaugural management meeting upon assumption of office last week, the new EVC/CEO had asked for the preparation of detailed briefing notes for presentation by management team and senior staff on Monday September 11, 2023.

The briefings, which have now commenced, will be followed by a tour of NASENI institutes and facilities around the country, in the weeks ahead.

Mr. Khalil Halilu was appointed as the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 2, 2023.

The new EVC/CEO has listed his priorities to include ensuring that NASENI plays a central role in ensuring technology transfer to Nigeria from around the world, as well as achieving successful commercialization of NASENI’s research and innovation.

The CEO, Khalil Halilu who was among the two Nigerian startups to enter the final stage of the competition at the ongoing GITEX 2022 was presented with a prize of $8000.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) who was obviously elated by the success story described the victory as a win to all Nigerians and a clarion call for investors to come and invest in Nigerian Startups.

“It shows that we are doing well, don’t forget that we have around seven unicorns in Africa, and five out of the seven originated from Nigeria”

“If you look at the competition up to Semifinals, we had nine start-ups and at the finals, we had two start-ups and now we have one winner, so it is a clear indication that we are doing well, out of 90 countries and over 800 entries; the future is certainly bright for Nigeria when it comes to digital innovation and entrepreneurship”, Pantami stressed.

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE while appraising the competition, expressed excitement at the turn out of events.

According to the DG, the solution Shap-Shap presented is going to impact not only Nigeria but the global market.

“This shows that we have people with innovative ideas that can change the world positively.”

“This is how others started like Uber and other logistics applications; In Nigeria, most of the strength we have today is in Fintech but other categories like e-Health, eduTech and Mobility, Logistics and Smart Cities are areas also we need Startups that can solve problems for our local consumption and the world in general”, Inuwa noted.

Inuwa noted that the different success stories achieved by the Nigerian team underscores the fact that the participation was indeed lucrative.

He enumerated the highlights of Nigeria’s participation to include the signing of MoU with Microsoft to train 5 Million Nigerians on digital skills, Startups closing deals worth more than $10 million and a startup, Shap-Shap emerging the global winner in the tech competition.

The winner who lacked words to expressed his joy was thankful for the prize and promised to deploy the money judiciously.

Halilu also thanked the Federal Government for always supporting Startups and encourage relevant authorities both in private and public sectors to build Nigerian Startup to come up with innovations that will turn the world’s attention to Nigeria for solutions.