The House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals Development has advocated for increased budgetary allocations for the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in the 2024 fiscal year.
During the budget defense session, the Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Hon. Jonathan Gbefwi, highlighted the untapped potential of Nigeria’s solid minerals industry as a significant source of foreign exchange and a contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This was contained in a statement signed by Segun Tomori, special Assistant on Media to the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development.
He noted that while the sector was responsible for over 50% of GDP contributions in the 1970s, it currently contributes a mere 0.65%.Hon. Gbefwi expressed optimism, bolstered by President Bola Tinubu’s reaffirmation of the administration’s focus on solid minerals.
He commended the proactive measures taken by the Ministry, including strategic bilateral and trade missions, to attract investments to Nigeria.
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However, Hon. Gbefwi’s enthusiasm was tempered by the 2024 budget proposal for the Ministry, which he found woefully insufficient for making a substantial impact in this crucial sector.
In response, he pledged that the House of Representatives would not only seek to increase the mining sector’s budget but also collaborate with the executive branch to establish reforms through appropriate legislative action.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, in his presentation, reaffirmed the federal government’s dedication to economic diversification via the development of solid minerals.
” When you do a comparative analysis of the countries that survive on solid minerals in today’s world, they are numerous and some of them don’t have the minerals, as much as we do, but because we have had free flow of money from oil, we behaved like the prodigal son and abandoned that which we should have concentrated on, in the first instance.
However, that is history. We are now at the cusp of history. The onus rests on our shoulders – ours as executive, and yours as legislature to take our country out of the economic quagmire that it has found itself because of the self-indulgent lifestyle. That is why the ministry of solid minerals was created, “the Minister emphasised.
Alake recalled the conceptualisation of his 7-point agenda on assumption of office followed by his efforts to redirect local and global attention to the mining sector which he noted has so far generated far-reaching global interest in Nigeria’s mineral resources.
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The Minister revealed that issues of insecurity is being tackled with inter-agency collaborations alongside the ministry of defence to create a new security architecture that will feature an infusion of a huge dose of technology.
The Ministry’s efforts are expected to create a more robust foundation for the mining sector, contributing to the broader goal of economic diversification.
The committee’s push for increased funding underscores the legislative commitment to revitalize Nigeria’s mining sector as a cornerstone of the nation’s economic growth strategy.
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