Nigeria Eyes 4.2m Jobs from Raw Materials Devt

• Nigeria Eyes 4.2m Jobs from Raw Materials Devt

About 4.2million jobs will be created in Nigeria within five years if the Raw Materials Development Plan is properly implemented, Minister of Science and Technology Dr Ogbonnaya Onu has said.

Onu, who spoke at the first Competitiveness Consultative Forum for Regulatory Establishments in Abuja, also said a successful implementation of the National Strategy for Raw Materials and Products Development(NSRMPD) would reduce by 10.8 per cent importation, thereby saving the country over N3trillion in foreign exchange for short time of five years.

The NSRMPD plan was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in May last year with the main objective of drastically reducing raw materials imports and developing local industries, officials said.

“Specifically, a successful implementation of this strategy would yield about 4.2 million quality and decent jobs, 10.8 per cent import reductions of goods, thereby saving the country over N3trillion in foreign exchange for the short-term period of five years”, the minister said.

He said the adoption of science, technology and innovation in industries and businesses would result in high quality made-in-Nigeria products that attract higher demand patronage.

But in his goodwill message at the forum, the Trade Counsellor of European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Filippo Amato said the body has set aside 120million Euro for the West Africa competitiveness programme that would be implemented at the regional level.

He also said the EU had invested more than 50million Euro to support quality infrastructure projects in West Africa for the past 15 years.