Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Director General of Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso says the council is committed to revitalising and unlocking the coal sector and harnessing its immense economic potentials.
Ike-Muonso said this at an ‘Investors Forum on Coal Value Chain,’ which took place in Enugu on Wednesday.
He said to fully harness the benefits of coal in the current economic landscape, there was the need to explore new investment models, modern processing technologies, and value addition opportunities.
He said: “This forum serves as a strategic platform for key stakeholders, including government agencies, investors, financial institutions, industry players, researchers, and students to engage in meaningful discussions on investment opportunities.
“To know the financial models for development of coal and other solid minerals, including technological innovations and policy framework to enhance private sector participation.”
According to him, the value of coal export in 2023 and 2024 stood at N4,735,337,185 and N5,435,337,044 respectively.
He said that with the minimum of 30 per cent value addition, the value of coal exports would increase significantly thereby creating spin-offs of MSMEs in the country.
“The overall effect of this will certainly be more wealth and job creation for Enugu state in particular and the country in general.
“For the coal sector to thrive and contribute significantly to the state and country’s economic development, job creation, industrialisation, and energy security, we must work and partner together,” he said.
Ike-Muonso, represented by Dr Edith Obi, Director State Industrial Development Services Department, said that this required putting in place implementable strategies that would enhance its value chain development.
According to him, all interest groups have their roles to play.
“The investors provide capital and technical expertise, financial institutions bring their tailor-made funding solutions, and government agencies will create enabling environment through policies and infrastructure.
“While research institutions will drive innovation for improved efficiency and sustainability,” the DG said.
Keynote Lecturer, Prof. Daniel Ozoko of the Department of Geology, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu, said that 70 per cent of Enugu State environment had coal deposits.
The renowned geologist said that the decline in coal exploration since 1970s led to the loss of thousands of jobs both in Enugu State and the South-East at large.
He said that the contributions of coal to the development of the defunct Eastern region and Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.
He said that most countries of the world use coal for their energy to power their industries and advance technology breakthroughs.
“With coal Nigeria can eliminate the perennial collapse of the national grid.
“If we decide to make use of our coal, it will surely improve our power generation in both Enugu State and Nigeria as a whole.
“It will also create mass employment for our youth population,” he said.
Ozoko said that Enugu State should consider itself as rich due to its abundance of coal deposits.
He added that the state government could even make much money by turning the moribund coal sites into tourists action.
Mr Nduka Ani, a coal miner, blamed the dormancy of coal mining activities on government bureaucratic bottleneck.
He said that most administrators of the coal mines did not know much about the activities hence the failure of most government policies on private sector investment in the sector.
