The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) yesterday said 95 per cent of the nuclear licenses it has issued are for the petroleum industry. Its Director-General, Prof. Lawrence Dim, who spoke to reporters said although other industries such as the beverage, breweries and paper mills also use nuclear materials, the oil and gas industry deploys nuclear materials heavily for well-logging and radioactivity.
Represented by the Director, Radiological Centre, Prof. Timothy Akpan, in Abuja during the opening ceremony International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) African Regional Coordination meeting to assess progress on leadership management in nuclear regulatory bodies, he said; “The petroleum industry is the greatest consumer of nuclear materials. In Nigeria presently, about 95 per cent of all the recorded licenses we have in the NNRA are from the oil and gas industry.”
On the adoption of nuclear energy in the country, the Director-General said the building of a nuclear power in the country is not a simple one. He however added that there are different hurdles for the country, stressing that “Nigeria has not been a nuclear country.” Dim said: “I think what is stopping the inauguration of nuclear power is the question of who should run it. From time to time, there are some milestones being set up which Nigeria has to cross, which is not too easy because Nigeria has not been a nuclear country.”
