Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, says the Federal Government is determined to partner leather professional bodies interested in research fields to enhance economic growth and diversification drive.
Onu said this at the opening of the annual conference of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists of Nigeria at the Nigeria Institute of Leather Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria on Monday.
The conference has “Nigerian Leather and Leather Products Revolution in the 21st Century” as its theme.
The minister, who was represented by a Director in the ministry, Dr Nnenna Okoronkwo, said such partnership would not only boost the economy but would also revitalise the sector and create job opportunities.
“The leather research will go a long way in actualising the diversification of the economy, apart from creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth.
“The growth and development of most countries of the world is driven by scientists and technologists like you,” he said.
In his speech, the Director-General, NILEST, Dr Isuwa Kari-Adamu, represented by the Director of Research and Development, Dr Amali Ejila, said the history of leather in Nigeria dates back to about 500 years.
He expressed satisfaction that technology had overtaken a lot of things in many societies of the world.
The director-general said, “The leather products of those days are not the products you find in the global markets today.
“A lot of ideas and innovations have gone into them. There is a great difference between what we have now and what Nigerian hides and skins have been in the global market,” he said.
