President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has assured Nigerians that the passage of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Amendment Bill by the National Assembly and its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu will be a moral compass for the rest of Africa.
Akpabio stated this while receiving in courtesy the Raw Materials, Research and Development Council members led by the Director-General, Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, in his office on Wednesday.
In a statement, his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, quoted the Senate President as saying, “If any of the values were to be added in Nigeria before exporting them, we would have had at least a factory for those chains that would have also created jobs for our people outside what the farmers are doing. Technological shifts would have also come in terms of innovations.”
He also noted “that having listened to the leadership of the council, it means that Nigeria is renewing its hope in terms of research, local production, input and value chain, regretting that it is quite unfortunate that we produce cocoa in Nigeria but end up importing same cocoa products from outside the country at a higher cost and without any input.”
Akpabio commended the Senate through the bill’s sponsor, Senator Onyekachi Nweboyin, saying,” I must commend the Nigerian Senate through the Deputy Senate Whip for the initiative.”
According to Akpabio, “ The most pathetic is the solid mineral sector, because we are not adding any value before we sell it, the result is you sell it at very cheap rate and if you sum it up, you will see that development in Africa in 2025 is still in a primitìve state when it comes to recognising and utilising the potentials available within his domain. Poverty is biting harder because of nothing but ignorance.”
He urged the council to undertake major training, retraining, and sensitization of Nigerians. He also suggested that children in secondary schools be taught something about raw materials and solid minerals, and recognise wherever they find one.
“We must not allow this to continue. If we now assist you by passing the Bill and the President signs it into law, Nigeria would have taken the step to ensure that whatever raw material is to be taken out of this country must be given an added value of at least 30 per cent,” he declared.
Earlier in his speech, the delegation leader, Professor Ike Muonso, thanked the Senate President for the audience and recorded the various transformations and progress made by the current Senate leadership.
“We have seen the reforms like the Tax Administration Bills, but the one that concerns us most, is the Bill to amend the Act of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, which is primarily to ensure that we do not export raw materials out of the country without it having at least, 30 per cent of value added. It is indeed Nigeria’s and Africa’s number one bill that will change the fortune of this country because Nigeria is a leader on the continent,” he stressed.
He solicited the Senate President’s support for the Bill’s passage and requested his presence at the Africa Raw Materials Summit later in the month.