Nigeria soon to incorporate nuclear power in energy mix, says CERT director

The Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), has said that Nigeria’s experience in power outages as a result of inadequacy in a generation has further increased the interest in nuclear option in the country’s quest to diversify its power generation.

The Director of CERT, Prof. Sunday Jonah, disclosed this, yesterday, in Zaria, while speaking at the opening ceremony of a five-day International Atomic Energy Agency in collaboration with the African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology (IAEA-AFRA) regional course on demonstration of conditioning operation and storage of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) for managers, scientists and technicians of nuclear wastes at the research centre.

He noted that the objective of the training course is to train local experts and facility operators to acquire sufficient capacity to carry out handling and conditioning operations under the supervision of IAEA experts.

“This involves demonstration on how to characterise, condition and repackage Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) is to provide practical know-how, as well as hands-on experience to participants,” Jonah said.

The CERT boss, who noted that the use of sealed radioactive sources in Nigeria had witnessed an upward surge in the health, industrial and petroleum sectors of the economy, explained that globally the interest in nuclear power is growing to meet the demand for electricity while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

He said: “It may be the only source of reliable base load energy for the future, especially with the discovery of the substantial amount of uranium in seawater, as well as the fusion reactor technology.”

“Therefore, as we continue our march into peaceful applications of nuclear energy in Nigeria, and with the successful hosting of this training course at CERT, I would like to assure everyone that we will not rest on our oars in the delivery of peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology to Nigerians as enshrined in our statute.”

Jonah, a professor of nuclear and reactor physics, further explained that “the management of nuclear and radiological materials in a professional manner is critical for sustainability and socio-economic development of Africa.”

While welcoming IAEA team of experts, led by Vivian Campos, as well as participants from AFRA countries – Ghana, Ethiopia and Nigeria, Jonah stressed that Nigeria ranks top among countries ready to host a training course on demonstration of conditioning operations under Project RAF9062. “