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NIGERIA@60 AND ENUGU@29: REFLECTIONS ON GOVERNOR UGWUANYI’S STERLING ACHIEVEMENTS IN ENUGU STATE

Published

6 years ago

October 2, 2020

Ifeanyi Ogenyi

Every October,1 marks Nigeria Independence Anniversary. But whether Nigeria is truly independent of an external rule or not is a critical question still begging for answers. I don’t intend to talk much about Nigeria because the nation today, is crumbling and falling apart right under our watch because we have refused to rise up to the occasions, muster the required courage and moral authority to set things right, and build bridges of fraternity and friendship; and ensure that there are justice and fairness to all in the land.

It is no longer news that Nigerians are currently feeling the heavy burden of the present economic downturn.

However, it is heart-warming to state that Enugu State @29 has witnessed unprecedented rapid development under the leadership of His Excellency, Rt.Hon.Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi despite all these challenges. Enugu is not enmeshed in the social crisis ravaging nearly the entire nation. The people’s lives and property are highly secured in Enugu.

Truth be told, Enugu people and it’s residents are living witnesses to Gov.Ugwuanyi’s giant strides in infrastructural development, and those who are truly following his administration’s policies and programmes since 2015 would readily give eloquent testimonies that Enugu State has made outstanding and appreciable progress in many sectors.

It is a true statement of fact, that Gov.Ugwuanyi met a recessed economy and other scary challenges when he assumed office in 2015 but he confronted the challenges headlong and warded the storms of the unpaid backlog of salaries, arrears of pensions, and inherited high debt profile.

Realizing that there are high expectations from his administration, Gov. Ugwuanyi promptly set new developmental agendas for Ndi Enugu premised on inclusive governance and political participation, peace and security, social justice and services, infrastructural development, the general welfare of the people, and a bipartisanship approach to governance.

Evidently, Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration has recorded quality and landmark achievements in those key areas he set out as his points agendas with the rural areas in the State having been brought to the mainstream of development.

His administration has sustained the development tempo and has also fundamentally enthroned peace in a sustainable manner in the State. And this amongst other considerations has earned him the recent award of the prestigious honour of Global Peace Ambassador by GASCO and also his induction as the first Fellow of the Institute of Peace, Conflict and Development Studies in recognition of his sterling qualities and achievements in Enugu since 2015 especially in the area of Peace-building.

Bringing his managerial acumen to the fore, Gov. Ugwuanyi remarkably repositioned Enugu State Board of Internal Revenue Services for optimal performance and sound revenue generation; and this has given rise to the increased State internal revenue generation.

Consequently, the recent report published by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics ( ” NBS”) on the 22/5/20, Enugu was rated as the 9th Best IGR generating State in Nigeria. Also, a Mid-2019 report by “NBS” rated Enugu as one of the six states in Nigeria that recorded the highest net gains in full employment between 2017-2019.

Furthermore, the quest for opening up of rural areas in the State so as to give the rural dwellers a sense of belonging to Gov.ugwuanyi’s administration could have spawned the unprecedented infrastructural development in the rural areas of the State. The hitherto neglected communities in the State today could find themselves in the mainstream of development as a result of Gov.Ugwuanyi’s empathy for the neglected and marginalized.

This infrastructural development which cut across the State includes the road projects executed such as Umualor-Eha-Amufu Road, Neke-Mbu- Ogboaba Road linking Isi-Uzo and Udenu LGAs, Mbu- Eha-Alumona Junction Road, Inyi-Akpugoeze Rd in Orji River, Udenu Ring Rd, Dualized Opi- Nsukka Rd, Amuri-Agbani Rd, Ukpabi-Nimbo-Ugbene Ajima-Eziani Rd in Uzo Uwani, part of Eha-Amufu-Ikem Rd, Ogonogoeji Ndiagu-Akpugo Rd and the reconstructed 9th Mile-Milken Hill Rd, etc. His interventions in the education sectors and health sectors are also outstanding. Apart from rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing health facilities in the State, the People’s Governor sometime in June 2020 awarded the construction of new seven Type-3 Specialist Hospitals in the seven LGAs of the State. Today, the said hospitals have all been roofed and work is earnestly in progress.

It is also on record that Enugu State is among the first few States that promptly approved and fully implemented the payment of the 30,000 minimum wage for workers. With the implementation of payment of the minimum wage in Enugu,a State known as a Civil Servants State, the wage bill geometrically increased without a corresponding increase in the monthly federal allocations,a situation that has foisted on the State a lean Treasury. But despite all these, the State has sustained it’s consistent and prompt payment of workers full salaries and even pensions by the 23rd of every month thereby boosting the morale of the workers.

Undisputably, Gov. Ugwuanyi is an astute resources manager whose exceptional financial wizardry and managerial ingenuity could have catalysticized such sterling achievements in the face of the daunting challenges of the recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Based on the foregoing, one can safely say that His Excellency Rt.Hon.Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has simply demonstrated by his bipartisanship approach to governance that conflicts management is practicable and peace is achievable; and that democracy can be giving its the true meaning and a better direction as the government of the people by the people and for the people.

It is in view of Gov.Ugwuanyi’s numerous achievements in these five years that we proudly say that he has outstandingly performed and therefore needs the people’s continued support for more achievements.

Indeed, Enugu is in the Hands of God!

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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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