The Director General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonoso, has called for stronger media partnerships to enhance the Council’s activities and support national development.
He made the call during a Media Hangout held at the Council’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, organised by the Directorate of Corporate Affairs of RMRDC.
Welcoming participants, Professor Ike-Muonoso shared updates on the Council’s contributions to Nigeria’s drive to commercialise research and development outcomes for economic growth and industrial development.
“Your role in informing the public is invaluable, and we look forward to a productive engagement.”
“Today’s gathering provides us with an opportunity to appreciate and acknowledge the media for their consistent support and partnership in promoting the programmes and projects of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
It also allows us to highlight the Council’s contributions to Nigeria’s economic diversification and industrial revolution agenda.”
He explained that upon assumption of office, the Council reviewed its mandate in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, with emphasis on value addition, import substitution, backward integration, and competitiveness of Nigerian products and services.
“On assumption of office, we sat down to take a look at our mandate to determine how best RMRDC can drive the nation’s economic diversification and industrialisation agenda in line with Mr. President’s Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda on industrialisation and the revival of our manufacturing sector.
That review reaffirmed our core objectives: value addition, import substitution, backward integration, and competitiveness of Nigerian products and services.”
He said that the Council engaged the National Assembly to amend its enabling Act to enforce local processing of raw materials before export, resulting in the proposed 30 per cent value-addition bill.
“This led to the now widely known 30% value-addition Bill. 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.”
According to him, the initiative is designed to generate higher national revenue, create sustainable employment, strengthen domestic industries, reduce export of raw materials, and build globally competitive value chains.
“At RMRDC, we firmly believe that 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.”
Postgraduate in Raw Materials
To deepen raw materials education, the DG said the Council signed Memoranda of Understanding with tertiary institutions, including Nasarawa State University, where the Materials Development Institute has been established to run postgraduate programmes in raw materials development.
“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.”
He also highlighted the Raw Materials Innovation Challenge, designed to strengthen research capacity and promote innovation across key areas of the sector.
The Council has launched the Raw Materials Innovation Challenge (RMIC), an initiative designed to build staff capacity in research and innovation while identifying high-quality ideas that can transform Nigeria’s research ecosystem.
The DG further revealed that the Council, in partnership with the African Development Bank and other stakeholders, developed a 10-year Raw Materials Roadmap (2025–2034) to drive sectoral growth.
“Let me further inform you that, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other strategic stakeholders, the Council launched a robust 10-year (2025-2034) Raw Materials Roadmap.”
He stated that the roadmap aims to strengthen data systems, achieve significant value addition, enhance collaborations, and build capacity across laboratories and processes.
Professor Ike-Muonoso noted that RMRDC has attained ISO 9001:2015 certification, reflecting its commitment to global best practices in service delivery and research coordination.