The Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved a draft policy for the Nigeria Solid Mineral sector covering the operations, guidelines, and regulatory framework as well as sourcing and all the dynamics of the sector.
The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake made this known on Monday while briefing State House Correspondents after the Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Minister also disclosed that the Nigerian government is ready to invest in technology to secure the architecture of the Nigerian Mining space, he added that this would make a huge difference.
Alake identified illegal foreign miners as major perpetrators of illegal mining activities across Nigeria adding that technology has enabled the government to decipher their strategies.
The Minister further restated that “the Solid Mineral sector is critical to the economic survival of Nigeria adding that current happenings in the global oil market and the global shift to green energy have made the sector more crucial.”
Mr Alake further said that “the Ministry of Solid Minerals is engaging an inter-agency security structure to effectively address the problem.”
These initiatives, among others, he said constitute integral components of the policy sanctioned by the Federal Executive Council on Monday.
He said; “Basically to say and state and restate that the solid mineral sector is very critical to the economic survival of Nigeria going forward because of obvious reasons. One is what is happening in the global market on oil, the clamour for climate change, and the movement to green energy, and none of that. All of these are combined to reduce somewhat appreciably the issue of oil in international markets.
“We are injecting a large dose of technology, we see the challenges of a porous border, the incident of illegal mining is pervasive in rural areas, the government has also traced the incidence of banditry to the handiwork of illegal miners, especially foreign illegal miners who sponsored banditry in the local areas. With the mindset of driving away the local population and moving in to explore, it’s technology that is helping us decipher these. We are working with the National security adviser, the Inspector General of Police.”
“Of course, oil is still sold, however, the trend is going down. So if we are not careful if we do not make conscious efforts to diversify, in a couple of years, Nigeria will find itself in economic dire straits and if we have an abundance of solid mineral resources, why shouldn’t we diversify concentrate, exploit judiciously, proficiently and efficiently, these God given abundance resources.
So that, in essence, encapsulates the policy decision that the Federal Executive Council approved today. It’s a draft policy on the entire solid mineral sector, covering the gamut of oil activities, operations, guidelines, regulatory framework, handling, sourcing, mining, everything all the dynamics in the sector,” he said.
The Minister said; This policy approval today that we got from the Federal Executive Council now gives us in the ministry, the teeth that we wanted to be able to act with precision on all of those things that we have marked up measures of security, you’re also quite aware of illegal mining activities all over the country by both Hugh and low. And I say that with all sense of responsibility. The artisanal so-called literal miners who just dig gold everywhere without licenses. These are so-called illegal miners. We also have the high class involved in this game.
“So in essence, it covers management operation of all the Solid Minerals sector, sanitizing the environment and making it investor friendly and ensuring the security and stability of investment and if of course, giving us also a lot of attractions to both local and foreign investors. So the operationalization of the solid mineral sector through the approval of today’s policy is being sanitised.”
Mercy Chukwudiebere
