Nigeria to save N3trn from local content usage, says minister

Ogbonnaya Onu, Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology says the present administration will ensure that Nigeria saves up to N3 trillion through the adoption and usage of local contents within the next five years.

This was said during the commissioning of N500 million data centre for the Nigerian Stock Exchange Monday in Lagos.

He said that the target could be achieved if the country could rely less on imported raw materials for manufacturing and productions, since the government has already passed three major initiatives through the Federal Executives Council, focusing on the implementation of the science, technology and innovation roadmap for 2017 to 2020.

The initiative could take a longer period, according to the minister, but had decided to take up the three years medium- term to ensure that the roadmap was implemented with the life span of the present administration.

The second initiative was the national strategy to promote competitiveness on the use of raw material by Nigerian companies.

The Federal Government had inaugurated committee to ensure the implementation of the strategy, he disclosed

Onu said that the committee was made up of all Ministries, Agencies and Departments and the organised private sector with two persons representing each of the organisations.

He noted that they were expected to come up with the guidelines for the designing, procurement and development among others for the exercise, as the strategy should help discourage large importation of raw materials into the country.

The minister then stressed that the strategy would also help Nigerians to understudy the foreign counterparts and acquire expertise with the belief that later local companies would compete favourably.