Nigeria lost $1.4bn to importation of chemicals in 2019, National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, Zaria, Kaduna State, has said.
NARICT Director-General, Prof. Jeffrey Barminas, disclosed this during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Science and Technology chaired by Sen. Uche Ekwunife in Abuja.
Barminas said that the country was losing a lot every year to importing chemicals.
According to him, “We are highly dependent on importation of chemicals and chemical products into this country. Just in 2019 alone, this country has lost over $1.4bn on the importation of chemicals.
“And how can we handle this. We as a nation can produce chemicals and chemical products based on the natural resources that God has endowed us with.
“Because of our dependence on petroleum for a long time, we left our indigenous chemical technology and that’s why today we are losing a lot in terms of importation.”
The NARICT DG said that if the country got its research and infrastructure in chemical technology right, it would make up for yawning gap in chemical importation.
He added that part of the institute’s achievements was the production of fertilizer.
“The fertilizer we have is not chemical fertilizer that affects the soil when applied over a long period. Rather it is an organic fertilizer; it is need-based,” Barminas said.