NIGERIA intends to commence local pencil production over the next two years under an industrial initiative planned by science and technology minister Dr Ogbonnaya Onu as part of the government's economic diversification drive.
Since assuming office in May, the government has made it clear that it intends to diversify the economy to ease the country's dependence on crude oil as a foreign exchange earner. With petroleum prices at a low, the government is hoping to use manufacturing as a way of generating export revenue to replace the losses.
Speaking yesterday after a facility tour of the Projects Development Institute (Proda) in Enugu, Dr Onu said the pencil manufacturing initiative would create over 400,000 jobs in line with the vision of the current administration. He said that it is wrong for the country to be importing pencils when it has the capacity to produce them locally.
Dr Onu said: “It is unthinkable that 55 years after independence, Nigeria is still not producing pencils when we have the human and material resources in the country. Proda has to produce pencils for Nigeria and they have given me the assurance that this can be done, which will create 400,000 new jobs."
He added that the ministry would give Proda the necessary assistance to realise the project. According to Dr Onu, the agency could do more than it is doing now, with the needed support, pointing out that the country could leverage on pencil production to increase its foreign earnings.
“For the information of Nigerians, the pencil is not produced anywhere in West Africa, so I am directing Proda to realise this within the next two years. Another area of interest is in the production of Nigerian-made six cylinder engines, which is one thing they must produce," Dr Onu added.
Comments
Post a Comment