Nigeria's President and head of the delegation to the Nuclear Security Summit 2014, holding at The Hague has restated Nigeria’s commitment to convert limited stock of highly enriched uranium to lowly enriched uranium.In achieving a mission to downgrade uranium stock, President Jonathan who arrived Netherlands on Sunday has said “Nigeria is working in collaboration with the United States United States of America and China for the conversion of Nigeria’s limited stock of Highly Enriched Uranium used in its research reactor to Lowly Enriched Uranium,”“Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts toward ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons."SEE MORE AFTER CUT>>>>>The president said that Nigeria was in support of the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations on a “non-discriminatory, multi-lateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons”.“Nigeria shares the view that fewer nuclear weapons translate into more nuclear security, while at the same time reducing the risk of proliferation.
The reactor
At the moment a reactor for academic purposes –used in training how to run a nuclear power plant runs on enriched Uranium weapon grade material said Professor Sunday Jonah of the Centre for Energy Research Training Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, a centre under the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission. He made the remark at the Nuclear Knowledge Summit NKS at Amsterdam. This is the primary motivation of Nigeria in the proceedings in the Netherlands. Long before President Barack Obama’s initiative to raise awareness on global nuclear security, the Nigerian government had setup the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority with the mandate to track the usage of radioactive sources in the exploration of oil and medical facilities. The Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority is mandated by the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act of 1995. However, with the increasing activities of insurgents and Nigeria’s limited stock it became imperative for Nigeria to begin to guard itself against nuclear terrorism.
Federal government
President Jonathan has also reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to sustain its weight behind an executive bill submitted to the National Assembly to accommodate the country’s obligations under international treaties on nuclear safety and security. This he remarked was in line with Nigeria’s commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
“Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts toward ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons.
“To this end, Nigeria has since the last summit in Seoul, strengthened the legal framework for fighting terrorism through the adoption in 2013, of an amendment to its Terrorism (Prevention) Act, thus ensuring the implementation of more robust counter-terrorism measures in the country.
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