Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed Nigeria's dedication to a comprehensive nuclear test ban through its collaboration with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO).
Shettima made this statement on Monday, during a courtesy visit by CTBTO Executive Secretary Dr. Robert Floyd to the Presidential Villa.
Shettima emphasized that Africa's current priorities are addressing poverty and the impacts of climate change, rather than pursuing nuclear weapons capability.
”The outcome of any nuclear conflict is never a win-win situation; it is always the opposite. We are fighting poverty; we are fighting a war against the relationship between the economy and ecology in sub-Saharan Africa.
He highlighted Nigeria's contributions to the CTBTO's goals through its focal agencies, the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).
Dr. Floyd acknowledged Nigeria's quality technical inputs and commitment to the CTBTO's objectives. He noted the significance of the data generated by NAEC and NNRA in saving lives through early detection of natural disasters and monitoring human activities that harm the ecosystem.
The Acting Chairman of NAEC, Anthony Ekedegwa, stated that Nigeria's partnership with CTBTO has been instrumental in building capacity and developing the sector.
The Director-General of NNRA, Dr. Yau Idris, also underscored the agency's relationship with CTBTO in ensuring global adherence to international regulations on nuclear tests and ban.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Why should the Vice President of Nigeria affirm that the country has no business with Nuclear Power. This coming from him is completely irrelevant as a vice president. This is the time Nigeria need for a civil nuclear power plant for her development and economic prosperity. We don’t only talk about military nuclear weapons when we construct nuclear power plants. Imagine, smaller countries like Mali and Burkina Faso have signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia company RASATUM to help them construct nuclear power plants in their countries and Nigeria is there struggling with three thousands MGT electricity supply for a population of three hundred million people. This’s disgraceful for a country that can afford to renovate edifice with billions of Naira without constant supply of electricity. We need smart leaders in Nigeria to adhere and be proactive to changes in the world. A vice president saying that Nigeria does not have business with nuclear power plant does not mean well for the country, he’s completely out of touch with realities and expectations of the people of Nigeria. How do you grow SME without constant electricity, how do you advance technologically with electricity and do you develop without electricity. It hurts me when politicians denigrates our country in this manner, they allow western countries humiliate them and they don’t seem to understand, and this is the most painful and pathetic aspect of our leaders.
ReplyDelete