30% Value -Addition Bill Crucial For Nigeria’s Manufacturing Sector – RMRDC

The director general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has reiterated the critical nature of the 30 per cent Value Addition Bill to Nigeria’s industrial development, which will make the country’s manufacturing sector globally competitive.

The RMRDC boss stated this during a Media Hug organised by the Council to highlight the Council’s contributions to Nigeria’s economic diversification and industrial revolution agenda in Abuja on Tuesday. He stressed that the bill, when it becomes law, will drive the nation’s agenda in line with Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda on industrialisation.

He pointed out that this piece of legislation reaffirmed the Council’s core objectives of value addition, import substitution, backward integration, and competitiveness of Nigerian products and services.

“The Bill is beyond a piece of legislation; it is the singular most critical instrument with the potential to turn around the fortunes of the economy and transform our manufacturing sector from what it is today to becoming the engine of growth and national development,” he said.

The 30 per cent value addition Bill stipulates the enforcement of local processing of raw materials before exports, which is specifically designed to generate higher national revenue, create sustainable employment opportunities, strengthen domestic industries, reduce export of raw materials and build globally competitive value chains.

With this move, the RMRDC boss said that the Council is taking practical and deliberate measures for Nigeria’s transitioning from resource extraction to wealth creation, building its manufacturing capacity for global competitiveness, and ultimately boosting our foreign exchange earnings.

“Nigeria cannot achieve true economic diversification and industrial growth if we continue to export raw materials in their crude form. Adding at least 30% value locally is no longer optional — it is now the most essential and patriotic thing to do,” he noted.

To deepen raw materials education, RMRDC has signed Memoranda of Understanding with select tertiary institutions in Nigeria to establish institutes that run academic programmes in raw materials research and development.

One of these partnerships is with Nasarawa State University, Keffi, where it established the Materials Development Institute (MDI), which currently offers postgraduate programmes across several fields related to raw materials development. It has completed its first admissions round, and academic activities are now underway.

To strengthen research and innovation within RMRDC, the Council has also launched the Raw Materials Innovation Challenge (RMIC) designed to build staff capacity in research and innovation while identifying high-quality ideas that can transform Nigeria’s research ecosystem.

The Director of Corporate Affairs, Chinyere Anum, in her remarks, said RMRDC under Prof. Muonso has witnessed a renewed drive, strategic repositioning, and impactful interventions aimed at advancing Nigeria’s industrial development through optimal utilisation of local raw materials.

She urged members of the media to play their role in driving awareness, shaping perceptions, and mobilising support for national development initiatives of the RMRDC.