Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development has reiterated Federal Government’s determination to diversify the country’s economy through the mining sector.
The minister spoke on Monday in Abuja while inaugurating a Joint Technical Committee with Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on Funding Intervention Support for the mining sector.
The committee is to accelerate sustainable development in the country’s solid mineral sector.
Ogah said that the committee would look into areas of synergy that would ensure that the sector got adequate funding for its operations.
He expressed optimism that with proper funded, the solid mineral sector would not only act as alternative to oil and gas as source of revenue generation for the country, but would create jobs and wealth.
He said that it would also increase the revenue base of the country, its foreign reserve and reduce poverty as well as provide industrialisation and infrastructure.
The minister tasked the committee to come up with a blueprint that would look into ways of generating and actualising funding for the sector.
He stressed that the funds needed for the sector to succeed could be achieved, if the ministry got the full support of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that membership of the committee include:
Aliyu Abdulkadir (chairman), Rilwan Abarshi, and Rabiu Kabiru.
Others are Tanimu Aliyu, Abakun Blessing, Sagir Hayatu,Ojeka Patrick, and Mrs Okani Grace among others.
The committee is expected to determine the ministry’s areas of need, required funding with verified costs and locations where applicable.
It is also to identify sources for funding and interventions to accelerate the development of the country’s solid mineral sector.
The committee is also to identify and establish revenue being generated from the solid minerals value chain as revenue from the solid minerals sector and recommend ways that could provide funding support to the development of the sector.
Alhaji Aliyu Abdulkadir, chairman of the committee in his response, assured the commission’s collaboration to ensure that the mining sector got the required funding for its development.
He promised that the committee would work to achieve the objectives for which it was set up.
