The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has advised the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to look inward and evolve creative strategies for raising resources to meet its funding needs.
He gave the advice on Wednesday in Abuja when he received a delegation from the institute led by Prof. Tijani Bande, its Director-General, who paid him a courtesy visit.
Osinbajo said that given the mandate of the institute as a think tank for the nation, it should be able to explore opportunities to collaborate with the private sector to generate resources for its sustenance.
He promised to work with the institute to achieve its funding goals through the establishment of a development unit.
“I do not believe funding should be a major challenge to the institute,’’ he said.
The Vice President however promised that the Federal Government would see what could be done to address some of the challenges confronting the institute.
He assured the delegation that its concern over the issue of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) would be resolved with the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He lauded the vision of the institute as a national resource centre and commended the quality of its policy papers on national issues particularly the report on the Boko Haram insurgency.
Earlier, NIPSS Director-General, Prof. Tijani Bande, disclosed that institute had produced no fewer than 1,700 functionaries for local, state and federal governments, “who have added value to solving the nation’s problems’’.
He informed the Vice President that NIPSS in collaboration with the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) produced a report on how to combat the Boko Haram insurgency on both mid and long term basis.
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