Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has appealed to the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals to increase the 2024 budgetary allocation from its current N24 billion to a swooping N250 billion.
Alake made this appeal on Wednesday while appearing before the committee, adding that such an increase in allocation will enable the ministry to contribute to at least 50% of the country’s GDP.
According to the Minister, the worth of mineral deposits in Nigeria is around $700 billion yet the country is yet to unlock the full potential of the sector due to bottlenecks and other encumbrances.
- “What we have is N24bn and this is a non-starter. For this ministry to contribute at least 50 per cent of the nation’s GDP, we need the sum of N250bn to take care of exploration. If we are given that amount of money, I can tell you that what the ministry will contribute will outweigh other ministries, including what we are deriving from oil.
- “Conservatively, the worth of mineral deposits in the country stands at over $700bn dollars. They are yet to be tapped commercially owing to institutional bottlenecks.
- “With the right investment, the country could become the hub for solid minerals,” he pointed out.
Speaking further, Alake noted that the government can not leave the sole responsibility of mineral exploration to the private sector alone.
According to him, Nigeria has about 44 viable solid mineral deposits in the country, which are in high global demand.
- “We cannot leave exploration in the hands of the private sector. If we do that, they will keep part of the date for pecuniary purposes.
- “We can return trillions to the coffers of this country as revenue, if we are given such a budget as proposed,” Alake added.
Influential Nigerians behind Illegal Mining in the country
Furthermore, the Minister also contended that well-connected Nigerians are providing support to illegal miners, leading to increased incidents of banditry and insecurity.
He affirmed that Illegal miners found at mining sites have very powerful Nigerians backing them up. The minister, however, said that the government was making efforts to identify these individuals.
- “One discovery that we have made is that a lot of these insecurities and banditry associated with this sector are sponsored by illegal miners.
- “These are not your artisan miners. They are not the people who pick gold on the ground. These are heavy and powerful individuals in our country. They are Nigerians and not foreigners.
- “Yes, you can see foreigners as symptoms, but they are not the basics. Nigerians are the powers behind those foreigners that you see on the streets. We are identifying them and employing various strategies, both kinetic and non-kinetic.
- “The non-kinetic with artisan miners… I gave them an ultimatum that they should form themselves into cooperatives because every Nigerian has a right to life and necessities, and if the government cannot provide these necessities, we cannot push them into the bush,” Mr Alake said.
