States urged to provide infrastructure in minerals endowed areas
State governments in Nigeria have been encouraged to provide infrastructures including roads and electricity among others in minerals endowed areas for the purpose of making such resources attractive to investors, thus, creating additional window for improving their internally generated revenues.
The Minister of State, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Baba Bwari made the call at the first northern Nigeria solid minerals fair and workshop organized by Kaduna State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in collaboration with PROEDGE Ltd.
Bwari who was represented by the Director, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Luke Abu also urged state governments to establish purpose vehicles for their states for the purpose of partaking in mineral resource development and exploitation.
Accodding to him, Nigeria used to be the size producer of tin metal in the world and the leading producer of Columbite arising from tin pre and columbine mining on the plateau, parts of Kaduna, Nacho, Nasarawa and Logo states.
While he stated that minerals and metals sector has in place a conducive policy, laws and regulations as well as attractive incentives for investors; he appealed to KADCCIMA to assist the Ministry in curtailing illegal mining Operations by urging members to operate in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and it’s regulations of 2011 in addition to other laws regulating mining operations in Nigeria.
Earlier in her opening address, the President of KADCCIMA, Dr. Muheeba F. Dankaka noted that Nigeria’s stagnated national development is linked to negligence in developing the non-oil sector, coming from decades of spoon-feed with petro-dollars, which in itself is not bad but has bred in Nigerians, a culture of mediocrity and waste.
The era of free money and leadership failure she said constitutes overriding influence on the incursion of corruption and wastage that almost crippled the economy and led the nation into recession from where it still strive to recover.
Also, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi maintained that solid minerals sector holds the key to the successful implementation of the general well-being of the nation. “In order to achieve this, adequate regulatory frameworks and investment friendly policies have been put in place to attract and genuine investments and fast track effectiveness in the sector,” he stressed.