By Rasheeda Hamidu
The Galadiman Ruwa Centre for Strategic Leadership and Communication has proposed the establishment of a Nigerian Green Energy and Chemicals Corporation (NGECC) to help Nigeria achieve a $1 trillion economy within 60 months through industrial processing and value addition.
Dr Jaafaru Sa’ad, chairman of the centre, made the proposal in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.
Sa’ad said the proposed corporation would process Nigeria’s coal resources into synthetic graphite, advanced carbon materials and silicon composites for the growing global artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing industries.
According to Sa’ad, the approach would shift coal utilisation from conventional applications toward higher-value industrial processing, with the aim of increasing export earnings, supporting industrialisation and improving Nigeria’s global competitiveness.
The proposal, titled “The 60-Month Sovereign Acceleration Matrix,” outlines reforms intended to enable Nigeria to reach a $1 trillion economy within five years rather than the longer period projected by the centre.
Sa’ad identified the formalisation of Nigeria’s informal economy and the creation of the NGECC to develop strategic mineral resources as the two main pillars of the proposed framework.
He said research conducted across more than 200 communities identified millions of traders, artisans and entrepreneurs operating outside the formal economy, whose formalisation could expand economic activity and financial inclusion.
According to Sa’ad, formalising about 50 million informal-sector operators could increase GDP, reduce poverty, create opportunities for women and young people and expand Nigeria’s tax and revenue base.
Sa’ad further linked the proposal to growing global investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, arguing that demand for advanced industrial materials could create opportunities for Nigeria to increase foreign-exchange earnings through value-added exports.
He said the centre was prepared to work with the Federal Government on what he described as structural reforms needed to accelerate Nigeria’s digital and industrial transformation.
NatureNews notes that the proposed NGECC is a recommendation by the Galadiman Ruwa Centre and not an existing government corporation, with NAN previously reporting an earlier version of the proposal to establish the body as a vehicle for converting coal and related resources into higher-value industrial products.
NatureNews reports that any expansion of coal-based industrial processing would also require consideration of environmental safeguards, emissions and the environmental impacts associated with coal extraction and processing alongside the proposed economic benefits.
