Bwari: Taking Mines and Steel Development to Next Level

Since he mounted the saddle after his boss left to become governor of Ekiti State, Abubakar Bwari has made efforts to take Mines and Steel Development to the next level, says Sumaina Kasim

Right from when the former minister and current Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was in-charge, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has witnessed a steady rise in policy formulation and projects implementation.

First, under Dr. Fayemi, the ministry, for the first time, came up with a roadmap to comprehensively address the sector's myriad of problems. The ministry had launched a N732 million Web Porter to help identify and access various mineral sites in the country and worked assiduously to ensure miner's royalties rate was reduced to 3.5%.

It was able to secure a N5 billion counterparts fund for miners in the country; and organised series of workshops, in collaboration with foreign agencies, especially the World Bank (The mining mini-diver event) for stakeholders in the sector.

More especially, the current Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Bawa Bwari, began laying foundations for exploration of solid minerals across communities. He flagged-off the groundbreaking and foundation laying ceremony of the Lead & Zinc Processing Plant in Ebonyi State.

He also flagged-off the first gold refinery in Nigeria in Ogun State; bought a N360 Mining Drilling Rigs for the sector and commissioned first gold incubator faceting in Gwarinpa, Abuja, Nigeria.

The ministry under the leadership of Bwari responded appropriately to the earth tremor witnessed in the FCT and its environs by suspending all mining activities in and around areas that experienced minor earth tremor at Mpape, Abuja.

The ministry went further to procure and install an earthquake detecting device in major part of the nation's capital to arrest recent earth tremor and further threat of earth tremor.

Over the past four years, the ministry in collaboration with various security agencies was able to arrest, prosecute and consequently, secured judgment against illegal miners in the country. The ministry had also been able to woo foreign investors to the sector. The minister was at recent third SinoNigeria Mining road show, during the 2018 China Congress and Expo in Tianjin, China, where he presented the various investment opportunities in the mining sector in Nigeria to the foreign communities.

The ministry also procured specialised vehicles for mining inspectorate at various mining states; organised the Nigerian Mining Week — its third edition. The ministry recently partnered some private entities to resuscitate the Ceramic sector. According to Bwari, "I believed that the rebirth of the ceramics industry is key to attaining economic opportunities