Abuja — The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) has assured Nigerians that safety would be its watch word when the country starts generating electricity from nuclear power.
Dr Martins Ogharandukun, the Acting Director General of the organisation, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja .
"We will not say whether nuclear power is right or wrong, but we will ensure that in deploying it, it is safe and in accordance with an international law.
"I will not advocate for any particular technology, but whichever technology any person wants, must be subjected to all the necessary processes and all the assessments must be done by NNRA.
"Second, it must have international safeguards, and once it is in conformity with national and international laws and regulations it is okay."
Ogharandukun said the Federal Government had decided to use nuclear technology to generate electricity and that it was in a better position to know the right energy mix it wanted.
He explained that NNRA was charged with the responsibility of ensuring security and safety in the deployment of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes in the country.
Ogharandukun said the agency had rectified a number of treaties relating to nuclear energy, and that the agreements were being domesticated.
He also said that steps had been taken to strengthen regulations for the country's nuclear sector and that a bill in that respect had passed the first reading in the National Assembly.
The NNRA boss explained that using nuclear technology for electricity generation required a gradual and systematic process, adding that NNRA was partnering the Atomic Energy Commission of Nigeria to ensure that the process was safe and in line with global standards.
He listed the requirements to be met before deploying nuclear energy in any country to include authorisation of the sites, design and construction of reactor and commissioning and decommissioning of the reactor at the end of its life span. (NAN)
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Simply put, WE DO NOT NEED A NUCLEAR POWER ANYWHERE IN NIGERIA!! Where will you dump the radioactive wastes? Somewhere in the Niger Delta again? As sophisticated and advanced as Japan is, Japan is phasing out all its nuclear facilities over the next 40-years. France is equally contemplating on doing the same thing. We may have just few experts in the country who may have knowledge of nuclear safety. But, given the nature of Nigerian politics, one could convincingly argue that much of the radioactive wastes would be cited in ethnic minority areas. If this is the main drive responsible for the proposition to build nuclear power plants in Nigeria, our politicians had better be ready to face serious challenges throughout the country.
whoever the spirits want to kill, they first render deaf, blind,and crazy. When it comes to toying with a such a dangerous option as Nuclear power, Nigeria fits this description!
Rather wasting huge amounts of money on Nuclear Energy should'nt the government be investing in renewable sources such as Solar, Wind and Sea wave genearation Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of these power sources especially solar energy from the sun and we really should be leading the world in researching and developing it. Can Nigeria really manage Nuclear energy if advanced Nations like Russia and Japan have had such horrendous problems - I doubt it.
Rather than wasting huge amounts of money on Nuclear Energy should'nt the government be investing in renewable sources such as Solar, Wind and Sea wave genearation Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of these power sources especially solar energy from the sun and we really should be leading the world in researching and developing it. Can Nigeria really manage Nuclear energy if advanced Nations like Russia and Japan have had such horrendous problems - I doubt it.