The Federal Government has charged the National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw Material and Product Development in Nigeria to help reduce importation by N3 trillion and create 4.4 million jobs in its first five years.
The Project Manager, Strategy Implementation Task Unit (SITU) of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Sir Henry Eteama made the disclosure at a workshop for journalists on the strategy.
Eteama disclosed that between 2010 and 2015, Nigeria spent about N47 trillion importing raw materials and products that the country has a comparative advantage over other countries.
Breakdown of the imports showed some of the 97 items being imported.
- The importation of nuclear equipment led with N9 trillion Vehicle and transport equipment at N8.2 trillion
- Electrical equipment at N7.3 trillion.
- Petroleum products at N3.4 trillion.
The other imports include fish, dairy products, plastics and cereals.
Eteama revealed that the strategy document has a five-year short-term plan, a 10-year medium plan and another 15-year long term plan. In the first five years, he said about 4.4 million jobs would be created to employ fresh graduates while saving the federal government N3 trillion from imports.
The Director-General of RMRDC, Dr Hussaini Ibrahim in his address said emphasized the need for raw materials to be produced in Nigeria and called on the media to partner with his agency.
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council initiated the Strategy and was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for its implementation since May 31, 2017.
About the RMRDC
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) is an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (under the supervision of Federal Ministry of Science and Technology) vested with the mandate to promote the development and utilization of Nigeria’s industrial raw materials. RMRDC was established by the RMRDC Act, originally promugated into law by Decree 39 of 1987 and presently cited as RMRDC Act, CAP R.3 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
