The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Sen. Adeleke Mamora, has touted the development of the welding industry as vital to the growth of the steel sector.
Mamora said this when he received the president of the Nigerian Institute of Welding, Mr. Solomon Edebiri paid him a courtesy in his office in Abuja.
The minister stated that the welding industry if properly developed, managed and sustained will not only create jobs for the nation’s teeming unemployed youths but will also encourage mass production and growth of the country’s steel industry.
He reiterated the government’s efforts to ensure that welding is maintained in the school curriculum particularly in technical schools adding that it will lead to the overall development and sustainability of the welding industry.
Mamora, however, warned that meaningful achievement will not be recorded without synergy and effective application of the principle of 5Cs – cooperation, communication, coordination, cordiality and collaboration – to lift the country to greater heights.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Chief Ikechukwu Ikoh said to achieve rapid industrialisation, Nigerians must be trained in welding, to avoid employing foreign professionals.
He further said that indigenous welders must be encouraged to be thorough in their work, to be internationally competitive.
The president of the institute, Dr. Solomon Edebiri said that his institute and the ministry have collaborated on many fronts, including the drafting of the National Institute of Welding.
A statement by the ministry’s deputy director, press and public relations, Atuora Obed said Edebiri informed the minister of the establishment of a national capacity and capability development plan for welding and related skills.
