The Nigeria Steering Committee on Pan Africa Competitiveness Forum (PACF) on Monday sought for partnership with the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) to promote Made-in-Nigeria goods. This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja and signed by Mr Chucks Ngaha, the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) Public Relations Officer.
The statement said Prof. Peter Onwualu, the chairman of the Committee, made the appeal when he led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Resident Representative of AfDB, Dr Ousman Dore in Abuja. Onwualu, who is the Director-General of RMRDC, explained that the forum was making efforts to promote indigenous goods in the country.
To achieve this, he said the forum would hold a conference in November, using the triple helix of government, academia and industry to practicalise research findings, to develop industry clusters in the country. “This conference wants to promote Made-in-Nigeria goods to compete positively with the world over and inject technology into indigenous practice. We want to integrate with those in the grassroots and give them a boost by having access to technology.’’
The DG said the Ministry of Science and Technology and its trade and investment counterpart were already pursuing processing clusters and that the triple helix remained very vital in achieving the objective. “While government provides good polices, the academia provides research and the private sector will engage in the enterprise,’’ he said. Onwualu said the committee had been working to make research results have impact on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMES) and had found PACF as a vehicle to achieve the purpose.
He said the committee was made up of agencies relevant to SMEs, while the inauguration of the forum had made it possible for the committee to visit every organisation that would benefit from PACF. “AfDB being an African bank, has given us added leverage, so we are here to tap into your vast network because we believe you have a wider reach and can help to sensitise other African Nations.’’ Responding the Resident Representative of AFDB, Dr Ousman Dore, said Nigeria had all requirements to be great in terms of local raw materials. Dore urged all parties to focus on the problems facing the nation because it had the capacity to be among the top 20 economies in the world.
“Nigeria has the resources and the question remains how they can be used efficiently to improve the country’s economy. The intervention should not be in SMEs and artisanal ventures alone but also in agriculture. We appreciate and welcome the partnership with PACF; we shall look at the request but our contribution may not necessarily be financial; we can bring in some knowledge-based products,’’ Dore said. He commended the committee for being proactive and urged it to give the bank time to consult with its headquarters. Dore said the bank would raise a team to join PACF, to help market the conference.
