Re: Tinubu should energise Raw Materials Council to revatilise industries

Our attention has been drawn to the above-mentioned opinion piece by one Mr Daniel Adaji, in your newspaper of  26th June 2023 in which he encouraged His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, to energise research institutions in Nigeria, including the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).  While we are encouraged by his push for increased […]

Our attention has been drawn to the above-mentioned opinion piece by one Mr Daniel Adaji, in your newspaper of  26th June 2023 in which he encouraged His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, to energise research institutions in Nigeria, including the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC). 

While we are encouraged by his push for increased support by the government, for research institutions and academia we, howbeit, wish to correct a couple of errors we have observed in the piece. Though unintended by the author, these misrepresentations present issues that do not go with facts identifiable with the conditions governing the corporate existence of the council and highly misleading within the context of informed opinion of our strategic partners, and the public at large. These include:

That the law establishing the council has been amended by a new Act of September 2022. The writer used the old law which is contained in Decree No. 39 of 1987. It is to be noted at this juncture that the law establishing the council was reviewed by the former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and empowers the council to play a more proactive role in the development and utilization of raw materials by industries for the purpose of manufacturing in Nigeria.

The writer also alludes to the issues of a serious overlap functions between the council and other agencies of the federal government, thereby giving the unfortunate impression, in his writeup, of the presence of dysfunctionality and usurpation of roles against the RMRDC.

Federal Polytechnic Adikpo: An appeal to President Tinubu

IGP warns police officers against extorting Nigerians

For the avoidance of doubt, and contrary to the insinuations of the existence of roles overlap and usurpation of the council’s duties by allied institutions of government, we wish to state categorically that the council does not operate in conflict with other sister agencies, but functions in harmony with other institutions and agencies of government including the organised private sector (OPS) towards achieving maximum implementation of government policies on the attainment of rapid industrialization for our dear country. We complement each other, not in competition. 

Moreover, issues of funding have been addressed by the federal government through the passage of the act of establishment of the council assented to by the executive government of former President Muhammadu Buhari in the year 2022.

Finally, we wish to reiterate that the council works in partnership with many research institutions, governments and private individuals with whom it collaborates for maximum efficiency; while we work assiduously to achieve our mandate of promoting the local sourcing, development and utilization of raw materials in Nigeria.

We are reaching out to sister agencies whilst collaborating with stakeholders, ministries and other relevant publics to support research and industry development goals for the overall benefit of citizens and national development.

We consequently wish to urge all other relevant partners, including the media seeking to write pieces about the council not to hesitate to approach it for updated information on its programmes, activities progress for purposes of conciseness and accuracy, bearing in mind that history has roots but on only verifiable facts founded on accuracy and truth. 

 

Chukwuma Ngaha, Director, Corporate services Department (CSD) RMDC