The Nigerian government says it will block leakages and loopholes impeding the collection of accruable revenues in the solid minerals sector as well as achieve its target of 50% contribution to the gross domestic product of the country.
Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, made this declaration during his familiarisation tour of an agency of the Ministry, the Mining Cadastre, in Abuja, Nigeria.
Dr. Alake explained that the deliberate decision to block all leakages and loopholes across agencies of the Ministry to review and enhance revenues is deemed imperative given the government’s high expectation for revenue from the solid minerals sector to facilitate the implementation of programmes that will lift people out of poverty, generate employment opportunities and create wealth under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.
The Minister said, ”We will take firm decisions in record time, block all leakages and loopholes to enhance revenue, and review all fees paid by operators and businessmen with alacrity that will cut across all the agencies of the Ministry.”
Elaborating further on the pressing need for removing all leakages and loopholes impeding revenue growth, Dr. Alake asserted that the Ministry is positioned to meet its target projection of making the solid minerals sector achieve its target of 50% contribution to the gross domestic product of the country. The solid minerals sector, he restated, is the next oil.
”We will employ all legitimate means of sealing leakages,” the minister affirmed.
While commending the contribution of the Mining Cadastre Office to the overall achievements of the Ministry, Dr. Alake admonished its staff not only to brace up in maintaining the success achieved but to strive to achieve and surpass the Nigerian Government’s target.
The Director General of the Mining Cadastre Office, Engr. Simon Nkom, briefed the Minister on its activities and programmes, achievements and challenges, citing the need to upgrade its e-MCO+ to the new system for efficiency in the administrative management of Cadastre applications.
Still on a familiarisation tour of agencies, the Minister visited and acknowledged the peculiar role of the Nigeria Geophysical Survey Agency in national development, particularly in projecting and generating vital data for all professional fields.
‘The Nigeria Geophysical Survey Agency, NGSA, affects every sector of the economy; data, information and intelligence are power. Every decision-maker needs it”, Dr. Alake stated.
Similarly, the Director General of the NGSA, Dr. Garba AbdulRazak, briefed the Minister on its mandate programmes and activities, with a guided tour of the agency’s museum in its headquarters building.
During his visit to the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG), the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, stated that the agency cannot be relegated as it performs a role that is critical to the survival of the sector and the nation at large.
He asserted that ”COMEG, as a quasi-academic body, is helping to ensure quality control in the training and practises of professionals in the Nigerian extractive industry.”
The Minister assured the DGs, CEOs, and AgRegs of the three agencies visited of the Ministry’s cooperation and collaboration in addressing and resolving their peculiar challenges.
