PRODUCTION OF PENCILS SET TO BEGIN IN NIGERIA – MINISTER DISCLOSES 400,000 Jobs Possibility

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu made the announcement after embarking on a facility tour of the Projects Development Institute (PRODA), in Enugu.

Onu said the project which would commence in the next two years would create over 400,000 jobs in line with the vision of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He also acknowledged that it was wrong for the country to be importing pencils when it had the capacity to produce them.

It is unthinkable that 55 years after independence, Nigeria is still not producing pencils when we have the human and material resources in the country to do so.

PRODA has to produce pencils for Nigeria and they have given me the assurance that this can be done and that with pencil manufacture here we will be creating 400,000 new jobs.

The Muhammadu Buhari administration is committed to creating new jobs and growing our economy.

Onu said the ministry would give PRODA the necessary assistance to realise the project, adding that the country could leverage on pencil production to increase its foreign earnings.

For the information of Nigerians, pencil is not produced anywhere in West Africa, so I am directing PRODA to realise this soon.


He said.