FG SUPPORTS SOUTH-SOUTH INITIATIVE TO HARNESS REGION’S MINERAL RESOURCES
Read Time:2 Minute, 26 Second
By:Tajudeen Aminat
The Federal Government has pledged its support for the South-South Development Commission’s efforts to harness the region’s solid mineral resources, with the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, highlighting the sector’s potential to create jobs, attract investment and promote economic diversification.
Alake made the commitment when the Director-General of the South-South Development Commission, Usoro Akpabio, led a delegation from the commission on a courtesy visit to the ministry in Abuja.
The minister said the partnership aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s broader agenda of leveraging the six geopolitical development commissions to unlock economic opportunities and accelerate development across the country.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise, Alake said the South-South region could no longer depend solely on its oil and gas resources when it also possessed significant solid mineral deposits.
He said the region was strategically positioned to contribute to the Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda by developing its mineral resources alongside its established petroleum industry.
Alake said the ministry’s reforms were focused on transforming mining into a major driver of industrialisation through local processing, responsible mining, increased investment and stronger regulation.
He also disclosed that the reforms had attracted more than $2.6 billion in foreign direct investment to Nigeria’s mining sector, while new mineral processing facilities had emerged and generated employment opportunities.
The minister urged South-South states to take advantage of the Federal Government’s framework that allows states to participate directly in mining through properly structured state-owned special purpose vehicles and valid mining titles.
He noted that several states had already secured mining licence approvals under the arrangement.
However, Alake cautioned state governments against introducing policies that could conflict with federal mining regulations, stressing that a predictable regulatory environment was essential to attracting long-term investments into the sector.
He assured the SSDC delegation that the ministry would collaborate with the commission to develop the region’s mineral resources and attract investments into commercially viable mining projects.
Earlier, Akpabio said the commission was seeking a practical partnership with the ministry in sustainable mining, environmental innovation, investment mobilisation and job creation.
She said the SSDC would align its programmes with the ministry’s policies while collaborating with state governments and security agencies to improve the mining environment.
The commission also identified the training and formalisation of artisanal miners as a priority, noting that bringing operators into the formal regulatory framework would improve government revenue, promote safer mining practices and reduce environmental degradation.
The two parties further agreed to organise regional stakeholder and investment engagements to showcase mineral opportunities in the South-South and connect investors with viable projects.
The collaboration forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy of using mining reforms and the geopolitical development commissions to expand economic opportunities and reduce dependence on oil.
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