Nigerian products are competitive, should be patronised— Vitafoam
Government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) must patronise made-in-Nigeria products because they are good enough and competitive.
Taiwo Adeniyi, group managing director and chief executive officer of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, who stated this during the company’s donation of polyurethane laboratory to the University of Lagos, appealed to the Federal Government to continually evolve policies that engender ease of doing business in Nigeria in order to enhance performance of the private sector.
Adeniyi said the donation of the polyurethane laboratory to the University of Lagos was in fulfilment of the promise made to its authority by Dele Makanjuola,, chairman of Vitafoam, at the 2016 Scientific Conference of the University where he initiated the need for such in Nigeria.
“We make bold to say that the equipment in this polyurethane laboratory is at par with any similar laboratory anywhere in the world. The choice of polyurethane laboratory as a CSR project was not merely for Vitafoam’s interest in the polyurethane industry. It was to honour and promote the efforts of Nigerian researchers and ensure their work is able to both compete well on the global stage and find relevance in industry,” he said.
“Among the key government agencies and parastatals that will find use for the services of this polyurethane laboratory include the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Nigerian Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) – though they are currently working on one that will serve for different types of auto parts.”
The Vitafoam boss said it would also be beneficial to the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Environmental and Enforcement Agency (NESREA), and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
“It is expected that this specialised laboratory will be run as a commercial enterprise to generate revenue to fund other projects within the university. This polyurethane laboratory has a significant role to play in the federal government’s Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), and recently the Medium-Term Plan for Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP),” Adeniyi said.
Reacting to the donation, Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science and technology, commended the company’s management for the gesture, saying it was done in the spirit of nation-building.
He said for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the Federal Government had issued Executive Order Five, which henceforth made it mandatory for all government parastatals and agencies to patronise made-in-Nigeria products without compromising standards.
Onu also announced the decision to give priority to Nigerian professionals either in the country or Diaspora before considering an expatriate in award of contracts.
Onu explained that the bane of Nigeria’s economy was over-dependence on importation of goods, which weakened currency, created unemployment and consistently reduced the Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
Earlier in his address of welcome, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, vice chancellor, University of Lagos, commended Vitafoam for the donation, explaining that the laboratory would be fully utilised by the students and would be a major research instrument for other Nigerians and the international community.
ODINAKA ANUDU