The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has empowered no fewer than 250 indigenes of Asaga, Ohafia in Abia State with cookstoves, home solar solutions and other renewable technologies under its Sustainable Empowerment Programme (NSEP).
The flag-off ceremony was held by the agency as part of its ongoing efforts to provide relevant skills, tools and technologies that would help beneficiaries build sustainable livelihoods and participate meaningfully in the country’s growing innovation-driven economy.
NASENI’s Director of Information, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, disclosed in a statement on Friday that the items distributed included NASENI Home Solar Solutions such as solar fans, panels and power banks, alongside cookstoves.
Speaking at the event, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the Agency’s presence in Abia State was significant given the state’s long-standing reputation for enterprise, creativity and manufacturing culture.
He said NASENI’s mandate is ultimately about people, noting that science, technology and engineering must move beyond laboratories to deliver practical solutions that improve livelihoods and strengthen communities.
Halilu explained that the programme was designed to take NASENI directly to Nigerians by equipping them with skills and technologies to become more productive.
He said the qualities associated with Abia State align with the direction NASENI is charting, an institution focused on creation, collaboration and commercialisation, moving from research for its own sake to solutions that people, businesses and industries can adopt and scale.
He described the items given to beneficiaries not as handouts but as investments in their productive capacity, expressing hope that they would use the support to create value, improve their livelihoods, and extend opportunities to others.
He added that NASENI remains committed to measuring the impact of its interventions, stressing that success for the Agency lies not in the number of programmes organised, but in the number of lives improved, businesses strengthened, jobs supported and communities made more productive.
In his goodwill message, the Managing Director of Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang, commended NASENI for bringing the programme to his hometown, describing it as evidence that the current administration is committed to ensuring Nigerians feel the impact of governance through job creation and self-reliance.
He called for a continued relationship with NASENI to build on the collaboration and further support Abia youths in harnessing their potential.
