RMRDC to hold 3rd edition of raw materials exposition in Lagos

Babamallam Lawan, the Director Entrepreneurship Development Division of the council disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.

Lawan said that the primary producers, processors and financiers would be brought together in a value chain for  effective utilisation of the raw materials.

He said that the NIRAM Expo, which would be holding in Lagos from March 14 to March 16, would encompass all raw materials across the country.

“The objective of NIRAM expo is to create a conducive platform for the domestication of resources and materials in order to sustain the procurement of these raw materials by manufacturing industries directly from their producers and representatives in Nigeria.

“It cuts across all the aspects of raw materials including agro based and minerals.

“Generally, the intension is to bring players, raw materials, producers and end users together,” he said.

The director said that the council was ensuring that industries benefited from consolidation plans of raw materials in the country by the council.

He said that the council was collaborating with some international organisations to plan the exposition, adding that the previous expositions had been locally organised.

According to him, involving international partners is to widen the scope of the exposition coverage.

He noted that Lagos was chosen because of its large concentration of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Lawan said that after Lagos, the next raw materials exposition would hold in Kano to bring together SMEs in the northern states.

Sunday Onjewu, the Assistant Director Entrepreneurship Development Division of the council, said that the exposition was part of the council’s plan to key into the country’s economy diversification programme.

Onjewu observed that diversification of the economy would increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

“The basic aim is to bring the primary producers of raw materials and the processors together along with the value chain actors in the area of equipment fabrications.

“You need the raw material, you need the processors, you need those that fabricate the machines, then you need those that would finance either in form of loan or whatever.

“So all these players will come together to discuss challenges affecting their industries to see areas of partnership, to chat the way forward at the end of it all, we are talking about the diversification of economy from mono product to agriculture and solid mineral.

“We believe that at the end the country will be better for it because so we are trying to see that we key into the Federal Government objectives of diversification of economy and at the same time empowering locally made products to add to the GDP of the country,” he said.