The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has called for effective strategies to overcome challenges inhibiting full development of the mining sector.
Akpabio made the call while declaring open a three- day investigative hearing on the mining sector, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The investigative hearing was organised by Senate Committee on Solid Minerals with participants as stakeholders in the sector.
Akpabio said the hearing is a comprehensive review of the Nigeria mining Industry, driven by the spirit of inquiry and desire for economic diversification.
According to him, the investigative hearing presents stakeholders an opportunity to ask the tough questions, identify the challenges, and develop effective strategies to overcome them.
“We must confront the challenges that hinder the growth of this sector.
“It is through our collective and collaborative efforts that we can create an enabling environment for the mining industry to thrive, attract investments, generate income, boost our foreign exchange earnings, and create employment opportunities for our people.”
He said the investigative hearing underscored the important role that the mining industry should play in Nigeria’s quest for economic diversification, adding that Nigeria can no longer overlook the immense potential in the sector.
He said the mining industry should be a cornerstone of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and a catalyst for social inclusion and empowerment.
“Our beloved country, blessed with abundant mineral resources, has the potential to become a global powerhouse in the mining sector.
“Let us engage in constructive dialogue, share best practices, and explore innovative solutions that will infuse the mining sector into the very bloodstream of our economy.”
He said through collective and collaborative efforts with the executive, enabling environment could be created for the mining industry to thrive, attract investments, generate income, boost foreign exchange earnings, and create employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He expressed belief that the investigative hearing would serve as a catalyst for positive change, marking the beginning of a new era of growth and prosperity for the mining industry and Nigeria as a whole.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, said the idea of dwindling revenue attributed to the sector was alien to its revenue performance, given available statistics of the sector’s increasing revenue performance in the last five years.
He, however, said the issue was not that the revenue in the sector was dwindling but that the increasing revenue was still too low compared to the economic potential in the sector.
He said his vision and mission was to ensure that the solid minerals sector contributed very significantly to the GDP of the nation.
He said that if all the inputs necessary to rejig the sector was available, it could overtake the oil industry in Nigeria.
He said the ministry would soon deploy a vast satellite technology that would view geo spatial tool to capture every mining activity in Nigeria.
The minister said that government had revoked 1,663 licences of operators that contravened laws and 924 licences that were declared dormant.
He said there was need to discourage the large exportation of resource in the sector outside Nigeria, if the country must increase the revenue profile from the sector.
Also, Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Ekong Sampson, said it was disturbing that Nigeria had not adequately maximised the advantages of its endowments in the sector.
He said that the nation loses so much daily, to illegal unaccounted and undocumented mining.
He said the anomalies in the sector needed to be checked by collective effort.
He said stakeholders, via the hearing and comprehensive review of the sector, would identify challenges and opportunities inherent in the mining value chain.
He said the outcome of the hearing would help enhance the sector’s contribution to foreign exchange earnings and economic growth.
