Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister of Science and Technology says that the Federal Government is to commence methanol production to diversify the economy and increase national productivity.
Onu said this on Friday when he paid Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia a visit at the Government House, Umuahia.
He said that the decision was informed by the need to create more jobs for the teeming youths as well as create wealth for individuals and the nation.
He said that methanol production had the capacity to make tremendous impact in the transport, manufacturing, energy and power generation sectors of the economy.
He said that the government had developed a Methanol Development Technology Policy and introduced a sensitisation program that would be used to educate the public about the policy.
“Almost all the things that we use are imported from other countries. This is something that should not continu
“We need a change. We must be self-reliant. We must produce many of the things that we need as a nation, by doing that Nigeria will become great.
“We are here to sensitise the people of the Southeast on this policy that has been passed by the Federal Executive Council and its relevance to the nation’s economy,” Onu added.
Responding, Ikpeazu said that the Methanol Development Technology Policy was strategic and critical to nation’s development.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Chief Ude Oko-Chukwu said that methanol production would go a long way to boost technological development and improve the environmental health of Nigerians.