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A 17-man committee has been set up to develop a blueprint for the transformation of the solid minerals sector in Nigeria.
This plan was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday when the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi inaugurated the committee which will be chaired by Prof. Ibrahim Garba and will be co-chaired by Prof. Siyan Malomo. The committee will have three weeks to complete its assignment.
Brief Profile of Prof. Ibrahim Garba
Born on Feb. 25, 1957 in Riruwai, Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State, Garba had his first degree (B.Sc. Geology) in 1980 and a second degree (M.Sc. Mineral Exploration) in 1985 at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He earned Ph.D (Geology) in 1993 at the University of London but had earlier obtained a Diploma in Mineral Studies at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, in 1992.
The Minister said that the committee is expected to produce a 25-year action plan for the transformation of the solid minerals sector, which will be broken down into a 24-month short term plan, 10-year midterm plan and 25-year long-term plan.
According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Prof.Garba is an Adviser to the Republic of Guinea, supervising the implementation of mining sector reforms.
Prof. Garba worked on secondment at the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Abuja as Director-General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office.
He Spear-headed the development and implementation of the Mining Cadastre System in Nigeria.
Brief Profile of Prof. Siyan Malomo
He is a lecturer in the Department of Applied Geology at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State Nigeria, and he boasts over 29 publications.
His skills and expertise include but are not limited to the following; Soil, Mineralogy, Groundwater, Water Resources Management, Soil Erosion, Hydrogeochemistry, Soil Mechanics, Engineering Geology, Rock Mechanics, Renewable Energy.
Here are the terms of reference for the committee;
The terms of reference of the committee include the identification of hindrances to the development of Nigeria’s mineral resources, identification of pathways to overcome the barriers, prioritisation of activities and provision of time frames for all activities.
They also include the creation of models and scenarios for successful implementation and monitoring of activities; and development of a consensus strategy for buy-in by all stakeholders in the industry, among others.
In the wake of dwindling oil revenues, the current administration has taken copious steps to explore other critical sectors of the country’s economic potentials, and the government sees solid mineral development as very crucial to attainment of economic growth in Nigeria.
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What of the other Profs on the committee; any idea?
We are working on a compilation of the list. Keep visiting Nairametrics.
Thanks.
But still havent seen it?
NM, please are you able to create a monitoring dashboard for these initiatives by the FG as the NASS that should see to this more often than not politicise their oversight functions.