Stakeholders in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector are backing the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) Bill before the National Assembly, seeing it as a crucial move to boost local production.
According to guardian.ng, At a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Science and Technology on Wednesday, the proposed legislation, which seeks to mandate 30 percent local processing of raw materials before export, received positive feedback from experts and industry leaders.
The bill, sponsored by the Senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Nwebonyi Onyeka Peter, which scaled the second reading at the Senate last December, seeks to amend the RMRDC Act 2022 to prioritise domestic production and local manufacturing.
Speaking, the Secretary-General of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutes (ASURI), Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, expressed concern over Nigeria’s long delay in prioritising value addition to its raw materials.
He lamented that the country remains largely an exporter of unprocessed resources with no strong base for finished products.
While calling for the timely passage of the bill, Ndubuaku noted that ASURI, with over 300 research centers and institutions nationwide, understands the transformative impact such a bill could have on Nigeria’s economic landscape.
Stressing that the bill is essential for tackling poverty, generating wealth, and creating employment opportunities, he said the proposed legislation is not just a short-term solution but a long-lasting framework that will outlive its proponents.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Chris Oputa, lamented the immense economic losses Nigeria faces due to the lack of value addition to its raw materials, particularly in agriculture.
According to him, while other countries insist on processing their produce before export, Nigeria continues to miss out on significant revenue and job opportunities.
He noted that one major issue is the undocumented export of goods, saying most Nigerian products are smuggled through unmanned borders illegally.
This illegal trade, according to Oputa, prevents the country from accurately assessing the true value of its exports beyond crude oil.
He stressed that many of Nigeria’s key exports are transported daily through landlocked neighboring countries without official records, resulting in billions of dollars lost to illegal trade.
“If this bill is passed, foreigners will come to our country and establish factories by force. The crude oil from Nigeria is being used to make plastic for phones. We can make it, or we can insist they come and make the phones in Nigeria. This is the beginning of the project. We will fight along with our partners to make sure this happens in Nigeria,” he said.
He noted that other countries have leveraged similar policies to develop hundreds of products from their raw materials, and Nigeria must follow suit to remain competitive.
The Director-General and Chief Executive of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, represented by Bature Muhammed, also expressed support for the bill.
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“We have reviewed the proposed amendment and supported it. We have not submitted any memorandum because there is no objection,” he said.
The Head of Legal Services at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nancy Chukwura, affirmed the commission’s support for the proposed legislation, saying its provisions align with NIPC’s mandate to promote, encourage, and coordinate investments in Nigeria.
According to her, the act’s requirement for a 30 percent value addition to raw material exports would significantly boost investment opportunities in the country, adding that it would create a more attractive business environment, encouraging both domestic and foreign investors to establish industries in the country.
Elijah Nelson-Odofia, a Director at the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), who spoke on behalf of the agency’s Director-General, Dr. Innocent Bariu, said the proposed legislation has the potential to drive industrial growth.
He, however, stressed the importance of integrating sustainability measures into the legislation to ensure that value addition to raw materials does not come at the cost of environmental degradation.
He further noted that NESREA had carefully reviewed the bill and identified areas where improvements could be made to enhance environmental management and sustainability.
For the National President of the Ginger Association of Nigeria, Gagarin Madaki, Nigeria is entering a new era where it must prioritise value addition to its raw materials.
He expressed concern over Nigeria’s continued dependence on exporting unprocessed resources, likening it to being “hewers of wood and drawers of water” in their own land.
According to him, this practice comes at a great cost, which he said is limiting economic growth and job creation for the country.
“We need to add value and create jobs so that fewer youths are on the street. We have the capacity to change the narrative and to become a powerful nation. It is our raw materials that the vulnerable are using to fight us,” he said.
Speaking, the Director-General of RMRDC, Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, urged Nigerians to take control of their economic destiny.
He said the country stands at a pivotal moment where the decisions made today will shape its future, lamenting that the nation’s vast natural resources have long been exploited without translating into real economic gains for its people.
He said: “We are faced with a profound decision. Will we seize the opportunity to catapult Nigeria into a future of industrial triumph, where our ingenuity and resources forge a path of prosperity and self-sufficiency? Or will we remain shackled to the chains of our past, where the vast riches of our land have been exploited, leaving us as mere suppliers of raw materials for others to refine and reap the rewards?
“The fate of our country hangs in the balance, and it is our collective responsibility to choose the path that will unleash the full potential of Nigeria and secure a brighter future for generations to come.”
Earlier, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in his address, described the proposed bill as a transformative step toward securing Nigeria’s economic future.
The Senate President, represented by Senator Nwebonyi Onyeka Peter, lamented the country’s challenge of exporting raw materials in their crude form while foreign industries reap the benefits of processing.
According to him, the practice has deprived the country of economic growth, job creation, and industrial development, adding that the bill under consideration aims to put an end to this trend by mandating that all raw materials be processed to at least 30 percent before export, ensuring value addition and boosting local industries.
“This bill before us seems to be a game-changer as it seeks to enshrine a fundamental economic truth that no nation can attain true economic greatness by exporting its wealth in its crudest form without processing them to at least a minimum of 30 percent before exporting them.
“This bill seeks to make it mandatory that every raw material available in Nigeria must be processed at least to 30 percent before export. By doing so, jobs are created, and value is added to the economy,” he said.
