▪︎ Dr. Abubakar Aliyu, a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.
By: Franklin Ocheneyi
THE insecurity situations across the country is seriously frustrating the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)’s efforts to establishing factories for processing raw materials at the appropriate locations.
Dr. Abubakar Aliyu, a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology , lamented during the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the RMRDC’s just ended 7th edition of Nigerian Manufacturing Equipment (NME)and the 9th Nigerian Raw Materials ( NIRAM) Expo, held in Lagos.
Dr. Aliyu, a former Director-General of the RMRDC, was the guest at the event, themed ‘Future Manufacturing: A Roadmap To Enabling Environment With Sustainable Industrialisation.’
In his speech, ‘Opportunities For Jobs Creation and Wealth Generation with Emphasis on Raw Materials Value Addition,’
Dr. Abubakar Aliyu, welcomed a policy pronouncement by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, that the Federal Government might privatise the country’s raw materials sector to boost local sourcing of rawmaterials for industries.
He said that since the establishment of the RMRDC in 1987 till- date , it had researched , developed, patented and established 100 Technology Innovation Centers (TICs) to address local raw materials development.
” All these TIC have been brought under one umbrella because of the insecurity situations across the country now.
” We can hardly move to every sites where there are raw materials to establish model factories. This was why the innovation centers have been brought under one location in Abuja.
” There are so many projects now at the RMRDC.. if only we can get genuine and willing investors to take over these projects and start the raw materials productions in large quantity. It will go a long way in the supply of raw materials for our industries,” he said.
He further said that besides the 100 TICs, there are 100 individual companies that have been producing fertiliser raw materials in Nigeria.
” Unfortunately, the 100 companies are not able to produce enough to meeting local demand. Nigeria needs about 3 million metric tons of the urea fertiliser and 5 million metric tons of the NPk fertiliser.
We need to do more; that’s why I said if we can get correct investors to invest in organic fertiliser, I believe that after few years, we can ban the importation of organic fertiliser in Nigeria,” he said.
▪︎ A tour of the RMRDC pavilion led by Francis Meshioye, President of MAN; representative of the Minister of Industry, Olumuyiwa Ajayi Ade, among other dignitaries at the event.
Earlier, Doris Anite, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, said: ” We must privatise our raw materials sector to support our manufacturing industries and by focusing on value addition and local content development; we can reduce our reliance on imported raw materials and improve the overall competitiveness of our products.
This will also contributes to the growth of the SMEs and empower local entrepreneurs to participate actively in the manufacturing value chain.
Represented by Olumuyiwa Ajayi- Ade, a Deputy Director at the ministry, the Minister, also disclosed: ” Since my assumption of office, with the approval of President Tinubu, a Presidential Council For Industrial Revitalisation, has been established, with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy – Wale Edun, as the Chairman, and myself as the Vice Chair.
In addition, various Task Forces have been formed to effectively implement the mandates of the Presidential Council…”
The Minister enjoined all the stakeholders- manufacturers, policy makers , investors including the industry experts to ” let us work together to shape the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, in-line with Mr. President’s “Renewed Hope Agenda.”