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FG Starts Onboarding of 5,000 Independent Monitors For Social Investment Programs

Published

6 years ago

February 4, 2021

Joel Ajayi

Federal government has flagged off the Onboarding of 5000 independent Monitors for the various National Social Investment Programmes. (NSIP)
The training programme commenced today at the NAF Conference Centre Abuja.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq while speaking at the event in the FCT, Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq said that it is her expectation that the process will strengthen the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme in Nigeria as well as provide data for evidence-based decision making.

According to her, the scope of these programmes are large with about 13million citizens across 36 states and the FCT benefiting from the Federal Government Intervention. Today, we are flagging off the training of 5000 Independent Monitors who will monitor the programme at the community level. The Independent Monitors will be assigned to monitor programme beneficiaries within their locality in schools, households and market clusters with the focus of ensuring that the primary objectives of these programmes are achieved.

“While this is the initial training to get you acquainted with your schedule of duties, the Ministry will ensure that you continue to receive regular training and guidance for effective monitoring within the communities you are assigned. You will be closely supervised by officials of the Ministry and your activities will also be monitored by the Ministry and other stakeholders at the state level”.

She therefore, charged the independent Monitors to carry out their responsibility with utmost diligence and sincerity adding that failure to adhere to the rules of engagement or any indulgence in irresponsible activities will be met with stiff penalties.

“Please be informed that the Ministry will not hesitate to take you off the Programme if you are found violating the terms of your engagement. We are also working with security agents, EFCC and the ICPC to monitor these programmes. If you are found engaging in any form of malpractice or fraud, you will be handed over to them for investigation and prosecution. I therefore urge you to carry out this task with a sense of patriotism as we all work towards the vision of Mr. President to lift 100 Million Nigerians out of Poverty in the next 10 years”.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary Nura Alkali who was represented by the Director Humanitarian Affairs, Alhaji Ali Grema tasked the Prospective Independent Monitors to shoulder the responsibility of monitoring the National Social Investment Programmes in their various communities with diligence.

“The social investment programme is a flagship programme of the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and is meant to support the vulnerable citizens in the Society. I therefore employ you to pay attention and learn from the facilitators brought here to train you on the monitoring process and data collection tools you will use in monitoring these programmes”.

In a goodwill message, the FCT Director National Orientation Agency Mrs Mary Tanko urged the Independent Monitors to shun practices capable of bringing the monitoring process to disrepute.

The State Focal Person Mrs Chinwendu Eteyen- Amba thanked the federal government for the intervention programs to assist the vulnerable especially the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme which she said has increased enrollment in primary schools.

“The children who got promoted from primary 3 to Primary 4 do not want to go to the next class because of the food. I implore the Honourable Minister to please seek to extend the Programme to the senior primary school pupils and secondary school students to lure them to school. We have also recorded an influx in school enrollment and attendance because of the school feeding Programme”.

The selected independent monitors will be based at the community level and will conduct monitoring activities within their locality including schools, households and market clusters.

They are expected to monitor and report on the implementation of the Social investment Programmes at the State level on a regular basis including the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), N-Power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programme.

The training is a follow up on an intensive two week-workshop and review at the National level by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee setup by the Ministry to develop a Framework and Data Collection Tools for effective monitoring process.

Other dignitaries who attended the flag off include the Director Finance and Administration NSIP Mallam Abdullahi Musa Yusuf, Director Special Needs Mrs Nkechi Onwukwe, the SAP and Special Technical Assistant to the Honourable Minister on NSIP Dr Umar Bindir, SAP NSIP Dr Mohammed Nasir Mahmoud and staff of the Ministry and the FCT.

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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