Nigerian mining sector has local manpower to drive further growth – Minister

The Federal Government has declared that the mining sector has every local manpower required to drive further growth.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olalekan Adegbite, in a statement issued on Thursday.

The Minister explained that the sector was filled with highly skilled and dedicated professionals who could move the sector forward.

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Adegbite, who made this statement while receiving the Honorary Fellowship Award bestowed on him by the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, noted that the high degree of professionalism in the sector had been instrumental to the milestones he had achieved.

He said, “This indeed comes as welcome news to the sector which has been attracting interests from foreign investors from the global mining world, proving that the industry has the local manpower to drive it forward.

“I met a lot of professionals here who know their onions and who made the job easier for me. I have learnt a lot from these people; they availed me their knowledge without holding back. I learnt from many professionals in the ministry. And the profession is indeed dominated by academics and professors whom I have learnt from.”

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Adegbite also called for the participation of more women in the sector, noting that it was necessary to achieve inclusivity of the female gender in the sector.

“I am very sensitive to gender issues; we want there to be more women in the sector. Though we men tend to be knowledgeable but women have the advantage of having emotional intelligence, which is now being recognised globally.

“Emotional intelligence is very important; that is why we need to encourage our women to come along and take their rightful position in the society and in the world of business. I am happy that the current Permanent Secretary is a lady, a medical doctor by profession. And she has quickly adapted to the sector and shown a lot of attitude,” he added.