By Festus Obot & Adaora Adibe
The Honourable Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, SAN, has stated that commercializing research and development (R & D) outcomes presents a major opportunity for Nigeria to earn significant foreign exchange and boost the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The Minister made this assertion during a facility tour of pilot plants at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)’s Research Demonstration Plant Complex at the Olusegun Obasanjo Space Centre, Airport Road, Abuja, on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
According to the Honourable Minister, “what the Council is doing through its Research and Demonstration Plant Complex is to ensure that Nigeria does not continue to export raw materials in their crude form while importing finished products”. With the pilot plants already producing products that have high demand across all sectors of the economy, we are calling on investors and entrepreneurs to come and take advantage of the products from the Complex and upscale the production to meet national demand as well as export, the Minister stated. Dr Udeh emphasized that through strategic synergy between government and the organized private sector, Nigeria can begin to transition from being an import dependent nation to being a net exporter of finished goods.
Speaking further, the Hon. Minister pointed out that the Ministry’s Energize Commercialisation Now initiative is a strategic intervention by the Federal Government to convert Nigeria’s vast research and innovation outputs into market-ready products, scalable enterprises, and job creating opportunities. He stressed that this would ultimately lead to huge foreign exchange inflow for the country. “The country must move beyond theoretical research to practical solutions that drive industrial growth and national prosperity”, Udeh stated.
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He informed the public that the First Lady, Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu who is the champion of the “Energize Commercialisation Now” would be formally flagging off the event Kano on Thursday, April 23, 2026 in the commercial city of Kano.
While fielding questions from the media at the end of the facility tour, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso expressed delight at different pilot plants visited by the Honourable Minister. He reiterated that the products from the Research and Demonstration Plant Complex have shown promising results and ready for investors and entrepreneurs to come onboard to move the products to commercial levels to meet both local and international demands.
Prof Ike-Muonso emphasized that the Council’s commitment to setting up the pilot plants is born out of the conviction that commercialisation of the products from the Complex has the potential to unlock huge foreign exchange for the country.
