The need to generate more foreign direct investments is why the Nigerian government is re-strategising its economy.
President Tinubu is hopeful that his masterplan will get Nigeria partnership investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide.
Indeed, Nigeria is considering the possibility of generating 50% of its GDP from solid minerals.
To achieve the vision of this administration, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has said Nigerians must strategically reposition the solid minerals sector.
Also, the minister believes that Nigeria can generate huge foreign direct investment. According to him, all it takes is partnering with big multinational companies around the world.
You May Also Like: Fuel Subsidy: ‘Our Salary Is No Longer Enough’– Lawmakers Lament
Well, he made this known on Sunday, at the unveiling of the Agenda for the Transformation of the Solid Minerals for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity’.
Alake is very optimistic that the ministry can add at least 50% to the Nigerian economy.
Seven Point Agenda of Solid Minerals Ministry
The minister listed the seven-point agenda that his ministry would focus on to include the following:
- The creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation
- Joint Ventures with Mining Multinationals
- Big Data on specific seven priority minerals and their deposits
- 30-day grace for illegal miners to join artisanal cooperatives
- Mines Surveillance Task Force and Mine Police
- Comprehensive review of all mining licenses and
- Creation of six (6) Mineral Processing Centres to focus on Value-Added products.
He said: “President Bola Tinubu has taken firm, courageous decisions that have reset the logic of the Nigerian economy.
“Some of which are the removal of subsidy and the adoption of a single exchange rate. These are among the fundamental transformational policies of this administration.
“This radical approach to making the economy resilient in the long term is the guiding principle of the management of the Ministry.
“The Ministry has to take the bull by the horns if the country must reap the harvest of the trillion dollars-worth of minerals under the ground across the country.
To achieve this objective, we will strategically re-position the sector in terms of the human and capital factors that can drive its transformation”.
Mining Is A Big Business
Furthermore, the minister spoke on the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.
He said that “the Ministry will work towards the incorporation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation”.
According to him, “mining is big business and Nigeria must assert its presence in this environment”.
The corporate body, he said, would have subsidiaries doing business in the seven priority areas that require immediate intervention and focus. These are:
- Gold
- Coal
- Limestone
- Bitumen
- Lead
- Iron-ore and
- Baryte.
Existing enterprises, such as the National Iron-Ore Company, and ongoing arrangements, such as the Bitumen Concession Programme, will be reviewed.
“The proposed corporation will seek partnership investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide.
“It will leverage on the attractive investment cum friendly regime operating in the country to secure massive Foreign Direct Investment for the mining sector.
“The positioning of the national corporation as a guarantor and protector of the partnership agreements is expected to assure partners of our seriousness and fidelity.
“Similarly, the Solid Minerals Corporation will provide robust support for Nigerian businessmen seeking funding abroad and help to authenticate their investment proposals to speed up the commitment of their partners to invest.
Nigeria Will Lure Investors Using Our Many Natural Resources
“Domestically, the Solid Minerals Corporation will engage the Nigerian financial system, which has demonstrated palpable reluctance to support mineral prospecting and mining.
“This is due to the long-term gestation of value generation by developing a Fund to facilitate investments in mining at interest rates that will be mutually agreed,” the minister explained.
The minister said the country would leverage on the abundant precious minerals including gold, manganese, bitumen, lithium, iron ore, lead, zinc, and limestone.
Others are, uranium, columbite, barite, kaolin, gemstones, coal, topaz and copper that are in massive proportions to attract investors into country.
Nigeria has an estimated reserves of different natural minerals like Gold (1 million ounces); Limestone (568 MT), Lead/Zinc, (Baryte (15 million MT), Bitumen (₦1.1 billion barrels), Iron Ore (3 billion MT) and Coal, (₦396 million).
Also, it is a sector with over 2 million operators, including over 633 small-scale companies and 251, 500 registered miners.
War On Illegal Miners And Smugglers
Alake said it would not be business as usual for illegal mining and smuggling, as the ministry would introduce a Security Tax Force and Mine police.
“For the last time, let me declare that the Ministry is giving such persons 30 days grace to join a miners’ co-operative or find another vocation to do.
“On the expiration of the period, the full weight of the law will fall on anyone seen on a mining site without a determinable status.
“This message will be interpreted into Nigerian languages and broadcast on the radio to ensure no one is ignorant of this directive.
Have You Read: Fuel Subsidy Palliative: NLC Kicks, Demands 300% Pay Rise
“From October, a rejuvenated security regime will become active in the solid minerals sector.
“This will include the Mine Police, sourced from the Nigeria Police and specially trained to detect illegal mining and apprehend offenders.
“The new Mines Surveillance Security Task Force will coordinate the Mines Police and proactively address high risk incidences of breach of Mining Laws.
“The Federal and State governments will also be encouraged to allocate the prosecution of cases against illegal miners to competent courts,” the minister said.
