Mr. President, Mr. President,

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1 NIGERIA S COUNTRY STATEMENT DELIVERED BY F. EREPAMO OSAISAI CHAIRMAN/CHIEF EXECUTIVE NIGERIA ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA TO THE FIFTY-SIXTH REGULAR SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) AT VIENNA, AUSTRIA SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

2 On behalf of my delegation the Government and good people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to congratulate you on your election as the President of this 56th Session of the General Conference. My delegation wishes to assure you of our full support in working with you to make this conference a success. 2. My delegation extends warm felicitations to the Secretary- General of the United Nations, and appreciates his words of solidarity to this Conference. We wish to commend the United Nations for its continued role and intervention in seeking solutions to the many global challenges. It is my honour and privilege to congratulate the newly admitted Member States - the Republic of Fiji, Republic of San Marino, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and welcome the delegations of the Member States and to seize this opportunity to express Nigeria s high considerations to them. 3. My delegation wishes to thank the Director-General, Mr. Yukiya Amano, and the Secretariat for the good work in implementing the mandate of the Agency. We would like to appreciate his untiring efforts in paying priority attention to the thorny issues of increasing threat of nuclear terrorism and security of nuclear materials, among others, and for creating the platform for global dialogue on these issues during the past year. 4. In this regard, Nigeria wishes to commend the IAEA for providing training and specialized equipment, this year, to some Member States for the purpose of combating trafficking in nuclear materials. I wish also to commend the Director- 1

3 General for the establishment of a Nuclear Security Guidance Committee to take the lead in developing best practices in nuclear security, and the implementation of the Nuclear Safety Action Plan, as some of the post-fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident measures to further strengthen global nuclear safety. Nigeria welcomes the fact that more than 100 countries now report incidents of thefts or other illicit activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials to the IAEA s Illicit Trafficking Database. 5. The Government of Nigeria wishes to express strong support for these proactive measures. Consequently, my delegation wishes to assure the international community that, in line with the proposal by DG-Amano during the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in March 2012, Nigeria would be willing to be part of the Global Network of the Nuclear Security Support Centre. 6. We wish to affirm that Nigeria will take all necessary measures to support policies and programmes of the Agency aimed at improving, globally, the safety and safeguards of nuclear facilities, as well as strengthen national, regional and international efforts for emergency preparedness and response capabilities. 7. Nigeria would also like to acknowledge the commitment of the Director-General in sensitizing and encouraging Member States to ratify the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM), which was agreed to by Member States since 2005, but is yet to enter into force. Towards the efforts to promote the process of ratification in the African region, and on the request of the 2

4 Agency, Nigeria will host the Regional Workshop for Africa, from October 27-31, 2012 in Abuja. 8. The workshop is aimed at bringing about positive impetus to expand the base of Member States in Africa that would ratify the 2005 Amendment. My delegation acknowledges the confidence the Agency has reposed on Nigeria in this effort, and in being a partner in galvanizing international consensus, and working with other African Member States and the global community to expedite the ratification of this important Convention. 9. My delegation wishes to commend the Director-General in further reinforcing the key role of the IAEA and its commitment to "work for a world free of all nuclear weapons". This commitment was amply demonstrated during the Nagasaki Peace Ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. 10. In this regard, my delegation wishes to urge Member States to hearken to Mr. Amano s note of the continued need and consideration of the Agency for the establishment of a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone in the Middle East. The Nigerian delegation understands and appreciates the enormity of the challenges in achieving this objective, but hope that with consistency and commitment of Member States, these challenges can be surmounted in the coming years. 11. The Nigerian delegation joins other delegations in acknowledging that IAEA has continued to remain active in engaging the world community to foster and deepen international cooperation for enhanced peaceful uses of nuclear 3

5 science and technology. We wish to urge all Member States to show stronger commitment to the Agency s programmes aimed at enhancing sustainable development as basis for attaining world peace and harmony through the promotion of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Mr. President 12. Nigeria wishes to acknowledge the important role of the Agency s Board of Governors (BOG) in giving clear directions for the implementation of the mandate of the Agency. In this regard, the efforts of the respective regional groupings of Member States, to evolve consensus in the designation and subsequent election of Member States to the BOG in the spirit of cooperation is quite imperative. 13. In this regard, we would like to commend the spirit of confidence building, regional cohesion and consolidation within the African Group in arriving at a consensus in the designation of its Member States to the BOG. Nigeria, being one of the Member States so designated, and if so affirmed by the General Conference, will use its membership of the BOG to further strengthen the implementation of the core mandate of the Agency, as espoused in its pillars, and do wish to solicit the support of all Member States. 14. The theme of the Scientific Forum of this Conference, Food for the Future: Meeting the Challenges with Nuclear Applications is of particular interest to my delegation. The aim is to effectively harness nuclear technology in the effort to meet the targets of food security and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the face of emerging realities of 4

6 climate change and overbearing population dynamics in many developing economies. 15. Nigeria, as many delegations may be aware, is a country in one of the regions considered as highly impacted by climate change and facing rapid population growth. With a population of over 170 million people, and an annual growth rate which exceeds 3%, the outcomes of this Forum will be useful to our national efforts at increased agricultural productivity and national food security. 16. In recognition of the various national development challenges, my Government is developing programmes to promote enhanced capacity to apply nuclear techniques in agricultural production and soil mapping, as well as radiation processing techniques in food preservation to control and minimize post harvest losses, as well as eradication of other animal health challenges. 17. We would like to declare that relevant national stakeholder institutions in the food and agriculture sector are partnering to effectively utilize irradiation processing to reduce food spoilage. In this regard, the strength of the Cobalt 60 irradiation source at the Gamma Irradiation Facility at the Nuclear Technology in Sheda-Abuja, is being upgraded to 1 Mega Currie and the construction of a product warehouse has reached an advanced stage of completion. 18. It is our expectation that with the Agency s continued support, the Gamma Irradiation Facility at Sheda can be designated as a regional centre for irradiation processing with enhanced facilities and capacity for total quality management. 5

7 19. In addition to the national food security programmes, Nigeria is also taking appropriate steps to ensure improved safety and quality of foods for domestic consumption and export. These are being achieved through TC Projects designed to strengthen the national capacity for food quality enhancement to guarantee consumer safety. 20. In this regard, we would like to acknowledge the Agency s support for the establishment and upgrade of laboratories for the analysis of pesticides residues and mycotoxins, as well as building capacity for detection of a wide range of toxic pollutants for adequate quality management in food safety. Mr. President 21. In the field of water resources management, we would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Agency for complimenting our national efforts in setting up an isotope hydrology laboratory at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT), Zaria. We wish to report that the Facility has become fully operational and would be useful in the continued effort of the Agency in partnering with Sub-Saharan African countries for the mapping of shared-aquifers and their eventual exploitation. Of particular note, is the current project on Supporting Integrated Water Resources Management for the Iullemeden and Taoudeni/Tanezrouft Aquifer Systems and the Niger River. 22. In the area of human health, since 1996, Nigeria has been receiving assistance from the Agency for the early detection and management of cancer in the country. In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Nigeria and the Agency in 2008 for the Agency to assist Nigeria in building national capacity, and upgrading of facilities in the 6

8 fields of nuclear medicine and radiotherapy in ten tertiary hospitals over a period of six years. As part of the capacity building effort, about a dozen nuclear medicine physicians are undergoing specialized training through the Agency s Fellowship programme, and over two dozen radiotherapy professionals have also undergone specialized training. 23. We would also like to commend the efforts of the Agency in assisting us to develop the national capacity to train Medical Physicists, a core competence required for the effective dispensation of nuclear medicine and radiotherapy services. These efforts constitute important components of our Integrated National Cancer Control Plan which is expected to be completed in It is our expectation that, in light of the synergy that has evolved over the years, these programmes would continue to benefit from the Agency s Programme of Action on Cancer Therapy (PACT). 24. I wish to inform that the implementation of Nigeria s nuclear power programme, which is aimed at diversifying its power generation base to ensure long-term energy selfsufficiency and security, is well on course. In embarking on this national endeavour, we do amply recognize the fact that the successful implementation of a nuclear power programme is a serious national undertaking, which entails the commitment of huge national resources, both human and material, over time, as well as the development of a critical core of a virile and competent manpower. 25. Its sustainability and success would depend to a large extent on the availability of the critical manpower. Consequently, in addition to a number of other critical-path 7

9 activities, our primary occupation in this effort has been the building of the requisite nuclear power infrastructure, which includes development of the needed critical educational infrastructure for manpower training as enunciated in the first phase of our national nuclear power roadmap. 26. In this regard, we wish to highlight the strong partnership and collaboration that has taken root between the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), the national focal agency in this effort, and the participating national universities to jointly develop and implement degree and professional training programmes in nuclear science and technology, as well as in nuclear security. We also would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance we have received from the Agency in helping us strengthen this partnership for building the national capacity to train the requisite manpower. 27. We do also recognize that emplacement of the appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks are critical for the success of the NPP programme. In this regard, we wish to inform, Mr. President that the draft National Nuclear Legislation, which would amend the existing Nigeria Atomic Energy Act has been finalized, and the amendment of the national Nuclear Regulatory Law is underway to make it more robust to adequately regulate the emerging national nuclear power industry. 28. In the continued implementation of Milestone 2 activities in our national NPP programming, Nigeria, in addition to building the requisite nuclear power infrastructure, has also done some preliminary site selection and characterization work for the siting of our first set of NPPs. In this regard, the two preferred sites located in Geregu/Ajaokuta in Kogi State in the North-Central zone, and Itu in Akwa Ibom State in the South- 8

10 South zone of the country would undergo further detailed evaluation and assessment studies. 29. We also recognize the importance in developing the nation capacity for an effective strategy and mechanism of nuclear waste management and ensuring nuclear waste safety in the country. This would also be quite imperative in addressing some of the issues related to public perception and acceptance of NPP. In this regard, we wish to report that Nigeria has put in place a Nuclear Waste Management Policy, and we have started the development of facilities for the comprehensive management of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes with some assistance from the Agency. 30. Nigeria would want to reiterate the important fact that the decision and the process of embarking on a nuclear power programme are entirely the inalienable rights of any sovereign nation, but it must be implemented in a manner that enjoys the goodwill and support of development partners, as well as earn the confidence of the international community. In this regard, I wish to further affirm that Nigeria s nuclear power programme is entirely for peaceful purposes, and we wish to acknowledge the continued cooperation and support of the Agency and other development partners. 31. We would like to acknowledge that the assistance provided by the United States of America through its Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI) programme has been helpful in our national NPI development effort. Nigeria looks forward to developing mutually beneficial cooperation and partnerships with well-meaning development partners in the implementation of our national NPP programme. In this regard, Nigeria and the Russian Federation have signed two 9

11 cooperation agreements on the peaceful use of atomic energy and for the implementation of Nigeria s NPP programme, respectively. 32. In furtherance of our national obligation to ensure nuclear safety, safeguard and security in our national programming, the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) has developed a wide range of regulations and guidelines to strengthen the national regulatory framework. In this regard, we would like to commend the continued effort of the Agency in evaluating the efficacy of our regulatory infrastructure through appropriate Expert Missions, peer review and Training Workshops. In addition, we wish to reiterate the fact that Nigeria has acceded to and ratified the relevant treaties and conventions preparatory to commencement of operations of nuclear power plants in the country. 33. For a country that is utilizing various radiation detection measurement instruments and devices in the many nuclear applications, the existence of a secondary standard dosimetry laboratory has become quite imperative. This is relevant for the purposes of instrument calibration, personnel dose measurements, and calibration of therapy level equipment. In this regard, we would like to appreciate the assistance of the Agency in equipping the National Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory located in the Institute of Radiation Protection and Research at Ibadan, Nigeria. 34. Finally, I would like to express the deep appreciation of Nigeria to the assistance and support we continue to receive from the Agency in applying nuclear technology to address some of our national developmental 10

12 challenges. I wish to reiterate on behalf of my delegation, our continued commitment to the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy for sustainable national development. My delegation also wishes to thank the officials and professionals in the IAEA whose dedication and hard work have contributed to enhanced service delivery to Nigeria and I believe, to other Member States. 35. I thank you, Mr. President and wish the General Conference successful deliberations. 11