The federal government has appealed to Nigerians in the diaspora to return home and help build the Nigeria of everybody’s dream, assuring them that things are changing in the country.
Ogbonnaya Onu, the minister of Science and technology, made the appeal at a series of Town halls with Nigerians in the U.S., assuring that old ways are now giving way to new ways of doing things.
The minister was in the U.S. to sensitise diaspora Nigerians on the Presidential Executive Order V signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in February, to improve local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Order is expected to promote the application of science, technology and innovation towards achieving Nigeria’s development goals across all sectors of her economy.
The president, in line with his constitutional powers, ordered that all “procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007”.
Onu thanked the diasporas for their remittances to Nigeria estimated at $22 billion yearly, saying it is a major contribution for our nation “but we want you to return home”.