27 July 2014, Lagos – The Raw Material Research and Development Council, RMRDC, has urged Nigerians to queue up and be counted in the drive for a new dawn in industrial development of the country.
Delivering his speech at the Public Presentation of 2nd Nigerian Raw Materials Exposition (NIRAM Expo 2014), tagged “ Achieving Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan through Raw Materials Sourcing” the Director General of RMRDC, Dr. Hussein Doko Ibrahim, who was represented by the Director Agriculture and Agro Allied Dept, Dr. Moyo Jolaoso, said , the Nigerian economy has been passing through a very tough terrain in recent times due to various challenges of under-development and therefore urged Nigerians to queue up and be counted in the drive for a new dawn in industrial development of the Nigeria state.
“A major challenge in this regard is the issue of achieving a sustainable means of sourcing for raw materials by the many manufacturing industries in Nigeria. The Raw Material Research and Development Council, an important stakeholder in the industrial sector of the economy was concerned about the state of manufacturing in Nigeria and decided to spearhead the process of bringing about rapid transformation of the industrial sector of the economy through the institution of the NIRAM Expo” he stated.
He noted that the 2012 NIRAM Expo was a resounding success judging by the sheer number of participants from the Organised Private Sector that graced the event and it is only right that they ride on the coattails of the maiden edition to achieve even greater heights so as to attain the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He said the objectives of the NIRAM Expo, which has been slated for October 28th -30th in Ikeja, Lagos, is to promote synergy among stakeholders in raw materials value chain, to provide conducive platform for exhibition of raw materials, to facilitate procurement of raw materials needs of industries, to enhance the growth and development of resource based industries and to compile and publish a compendium of raw materials producers.
The Director General of NACCIMA, Mr. John Isemede, said the OPS and agencies of government, should work together and learn how to add value and develop the raw materials that we have, adding that SON, NAFDAC should have a certification centre so as to promote and develop our raw materials.
“The greatest problem we have is infrastructure, what other countries will get done in three hours, will take us a day to do. We have a reappraisal for all agencies to come together, the structure has to be put in place, it is not tariff that is our major problem in Nigeria but accessibility.
The six geo political zones should be looked into; we have opened our doors for the western world, we have been exporting cocoa base for so many years, we have to develop the value chain and palm produce should also be looked into,” he said.