Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State says many manufacturing industries as well as small and medium scale enterprises are not using abundant raw materials in the country to their advantage.

Governor Aliyu spoke in Abuja at the ongoing Techno Expo organized by the Raw Materials Research Development Council.

Represented by his deputy, Alhaji Musa Ibeto, Governor Aliyu said the Nigerian manufacturing sector has not evolved strategies that would stimulate the growth and expansion of local resources.

"We must use our raw materials endowment to lay the foundation for our industrialization, which is critical in determining the standard of living of citizens and one of the indices of development of nations," he said.

He said SMEs are not getting the deserved attention, calling on relevant agencies to do more for them.

He said: "This is the time to stop the importation of items and commodities that we can manufacture and export to the outside world."

He also called on governments to encourage vocational education to engender early acquisition of entrepreneurial skills and technical knowledge to grow the economy.