By Bukola Olamona
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A major technological breakthrough has been recorded by the Government Technical College, Owo (GTC) in the fabrication and production of a fuelless motorcycle.

The fuelless bike and many other dazzling tools like generator and maize planter, have attracted global community’s attention and that of the Ondo State Government.

Investigation by The Hope showed that the bike is noiseless and emission free of carbon monoxide toxic to human beings.

Displaying the motorbike and other fabrications to The Hope yesterday, a teacher and the brain box of the inventions, Mr. Olabode Ajibola Olasehinde said his team and students were inspired to ‘do’ the fabrications to improve the economy of the state.

Olasehinde, who teaches in the Fabrication and Welding Department of the 55-year-old school, said the fuelless motorbike had won him the National Productivity Merit Award and equally represented Nigeria in Brazil with the invention, where it also won award.

 He regretted that the equipments had remained on the shelve for years without getting necessary assistance towards their mass production for commercial purpose.

He said, “For now, we are not being motivated and encouraged but we are hoping that the present government will beam its light of grace upon us as we have a bunch of talents here”

He listed other tools fabricated in the school to include, multipurpose oven, mobile refrigerator, maize sheller, wiring connections of the lighting system unit on a motor vehicle mock up and more others which he said have remained on the shelf without support to reproduce them.

Reacting, the Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Education, Rev Akinkugbe Asaniyan disclosed that the state government has made budgetary provision of N25m for the development of such fabrictions.

According to him, the fabrications by GTC, Owo is yet to be taken for verification and certification.

“NOTAP is the body responsible for the standardising and granting of license for mass production of things like this. When we are certified, that is when we can mass produce,”, he added.

“We are already encouraging our technical schools to go into serious fabrications. I am aware that GTC, Owo have been producing fuelless motorcycle, also fuelless generator and motorcycle. “

On the expansion of Ministry of Education to include Science and Technology, Asaniyan said it has increased the programme which he said has made the ministry to move from basic education to technological education

“Yes, the implication is that our operations are also modified from basic education now to include science and technology. As soon as I resumed, the commissioner mandated me that we have to fulfill the mandate of that expansion, and so what we did was to have a steering committee to reposition Ondo State in terms of Science and Technology.

“If you look at the recent Ondo Expo, the programme held at the Dome in the keynote address of the Governor, he specifically mentioned that there is a steering committee to reposition science and technology in Ondo State.

In that committee, we have been able to identify three key areas: agriculture, vocational and technology studies and then, we identified ICT. It is the ‘ICT’ that led to the digitalisation of our schools,” he said.