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Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, says the unveiling of the National Policy on Welding and Welding related Fields and a Strategy Implementation Action Plan will end the $10 billion annual revenue loss in Nigeria.

He said that despite having one million welders, Nigeria still loses an estimated $10 billion annually in revenue by importing welders with international certification, displacing the country’s local service providers due to lack of acceptable accreditation. A situation he said is unacceptable to the present administration.

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Unveiling the policy on Monday in Abuja, the Minister explained that the policy is aimed at preventing the humongous loss the country is suffering from the non-certification of industry practitioners in the sector.

“Today marks a significant milestone as we launch the National Policy on Welding and Welding-Related Fields and its Strategy Implementation Action Plan.

“This policy is a response to the long standing issue of neglect and lack of regulation in the welding sector, long left in the hands of uncertified personnel. The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology recognizes the importance of welding for the nation’s socio-economic development and has taken this crucial step to address the issue.

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“By launching this National Policy on Welding, this Ministry, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, strategically fast-tracks Nigeria’s industrialization by emphasizing ‘Standardized practices, quality enhancement, and innovation in welding across diverse sectors. We envision a self-sufficient and globally competitive Nigerian welding sector contributing significantly to the international supply chain.

“It is concerning that the lack of internationally recognized – certification of industry practitioners has prevented our indigenous welding sector, which should be making a substantial contribution to Nigeria’s economy, from exploiting myriads of opportunities, particularly in the oil and gas industry and exporting them to an influx of foreign welding personnel.

“Because the global welding market emphasizes international certification of its service suppliers, there is little room for our local welding professionals to showcase their talents and potential unless we consciously and progressively certify existing capacities and regulate the practice. Consequently, we have introduced the National Policy on Welding and Welding Related Fields to address this issue and promote the use of local welding personnel in critical economic sectors.”

The Minister expressed optimism that the new policy will strategically fast-track Nigeria’s industrialization by emphasizing standardization and high quality service delivery.

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According to him, the policy was developed and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in October 2022.

“This policy is a crucial step towards promoting the local production of goods and empowering Nigerian welders to work locally and internationally. It underscores our readiness to support Innovation, Science, and Technology (IST) development efforts to make Nigeria great,” he said.

In his remarks, the Dr. Solomon Edebiri said, “Today’s event signposts the hard work of a combined team of Nigerian Institute of Welding and Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology over the past years, spanning through 2018 to 2022 when the Federal Executive Council approved the need to put in place a National Welding Capability Development Plan.

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“With a strong collaboration between the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, this policy was drafted, critiqued, validated and finally approved by the Federal Executive Council.”

He said the launch heralds a new era for welding Technology development and practice in Nigeria and the policy when implemented, he said will provide the right platform for the development of technology, SME, informal Sector, human capacity, infrastructure across all Sectors, equipment manufacturing and quality control improvements.

He expressed optimism that proper implementation of the policy will save Nigeria over 10bn United States Dollars lost annually due to capital flight arising from the importation of various cadres of Welding personnel into the country for some unjustifiable reasons, either for reason of equity funding on projects or in the name of technical partners’ interest.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, James Sule said the Policy will liberate the country economically.

“It is high time we pay more attention to this critical sector that can provide jobs and generate wealth for our teeming population through active sensitization and involvement of our people for self-reliance, and as well provide for their livelihoods.

“The Federal Government recognizes the importance of welding in the nation’s economic development, and therefore in 2014 approved the National Skills Qualification Framework in order to strengthen the sector. This was designed to create a career path for persons willing to acquire necessary skills in welding and its related fields, which can receive National Certification issued by the Nigerian Institute of Welding.”

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