Given the tremendous advantage of harnessing Nigeria’s local chemical production industry, the country’s House of Representatives has denounced the notion of importing chemical products. Femi Gbajabiamila, who disclosed this at the public hearing of the Committee on Science and Technology in Abuja, notes that the house of representative is adopting legal means to back its urges. This is a movement towards developing, harnessing and enhancing the country’s local chemical products for exports to foreign countries.
This legislation is based on two bills: a bill for an Act to create the National Institute for Chemical Technology in Zaria, Kaduna State, and an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Digital Technology and Development in Nigeria. The bill’s passage will provide various advantages to the nation, including internationally competitive and eco-friendly creative research in the processing and converting of indigenous raw materials into valuable chemicals. In addition, the bill will make available petrochemical products to advance chemical, biological, and synthetic fibre technologies for use in Nigeria’s industrial sector.
Chemical technology remains the bedrock of any progress.
Femi Gbajabiamila, represented by Minority Leader Rep. Peter Akpaterson, argues that the institute’s entreaties would strike a dead rock if legislation is not adopted, and he emphasizes that the 9th assembly would offer the necessary legal support. He claimed that despite Nigeria’s vast chemical resources, the government continued to rely on outside suppliers and that this trend poorly boded for the economy. Rep. Akpaterson boasts that his region is one of the most mineral-rich, but he is concerned that certain specialized research institutes need to provide better value addition.
Furthermore, the director general of the National Research Institute for Chemical and Technology in Zaria, Kaduna State, Professor Jeffery Barminas, maintained that chemical technology remained the bedrock of any developmental progress. He claims this is accomplished by using a wide range of chemically-produced goods. Prof. Barminas emphasized the significance of the expansion of chemical technology and industry, noting that more than 600 chemicals are due to it. Also, he criticized the influx of synthetic chemicals into the nation, arguing that they impede progress.
Government should invest more in chemical-related projects.
He claims the bill’s provisions would encourage more investment in the country’s chemical technologies, including its approximately $72 billion bitumen reserves. Prof. Barminas argued that it is imperative to stop the importation of chemical goods, and he noted that the institution would gain access to resources and expertise if the measure were to pass. Growth in this sector, he said, would improve people’s lives in Nigeria as it would allow the nation to import essential goods like metals and pharmaceuticals. The legislation is necessary, among other things, to achieve sustained excellence and to conform to worldwide standards in chemical technology and chemical product development.
Minister of Science and Technology’s Senior Technical Assistant, Mr. Mej Bassey, has argued for the need for legislation to govern public participation in the field. He suggested the government should invest more funds in chemical-related projects, given the adverse impact chemicals have on the environment. Especially today, when security concerns have arisen due to persons with inadequate chemical understanding and improper goods, the moment has come, in his opinion, to discuss use and legal implications.
The bill will hasten the country’s economic development.
It is intended that the legislation would provide a framework for the safe and effective management of chemicals. The committee chairman, Representative Beni Lar, praised the bill’s architect and said it would hasten the country’s economic development. Chemicals have several useful end products that can be used to combat global warming. This is because, compared to materials like wood, paper, or metal, their carbon impact is often more negligible throughout their existence. Also, they facilitate energy conservation and the shift to a system that uses less carbon-based fuels.
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