… as Minister promises to develop minerals sector for national economic diversification.
The Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) has congratulated the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake on his appointment, while also intimating the minister of challenges that can bedevil the realization of the Six-Point Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, if not decisively addressed.
National President of the Association, Mr. ‘Dele Ayanleke who led a delegation of the association on an inaugural visit to the Minister in Abuja, on Monday, said the association was inspired by the zeal to develop the mining sector, to outline and discuss the challenges as part of its commitment to working with the administration.
The 79-year-old miners association therefore called on the Minister to take the decisive steps needed to tackle current challenges that could impede the implementation of the robust 6-point Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Tinubu in the mining sector.
Addressing the Minister, Ayanleke said: ‘We will continue to engage the ministry as we have always been doing, and we like to draw your attention to some current developments which may constitute impediments to the successful implementation of the Agenda.’
The President stated: ‘Although this meeting is primarily to formally congratulate and welcome you, it is imperative to seize the opportunity to discuss some current developments in the sector that will facilitate the successful implementation of the 6-Point Agenda highlighted in your Inaugural Press Briefing,’ adding that the association has actively collaborated with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, its agencies and other national and international stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs for global best practices.
He explained that ‘the immediate past administration took audacious steps to end the
monotony of oil and gas as the major source of our national economy by attempting to diversify and broaden the national economic space through mining and agriculture,’ adding that the ‘initiative actually witnessed some motions and movements within the sector.’
Ayanleke said the Miners Association believes that President Tinubu’s the 6-Point Renewed Hope Agenda for the Solid Minerals Sector will attempt to consolidate on the previous initiatives.
Discussing pertinent challenges that brazenly disregard the law while threatening the development of the solid minerals sector, Ayanleke expressed concern that ‘despite the exclusivity of the management of mineral resources placed under the purview of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the superiority of the statutes regulating mining operations over any other statutes, some State Governments engage in unlawful enactment of laws and the establishment of illegal regulatory structures that create multiple frameworks in the sector. He said this anomaly, if not addressed, could drown all efforts at positioning the sector as a viable economic diversification option.
The President stated: ‘Section 44 of the Nigeria Constitution, as amended, is not ambiguous as to the ownership of minerals under the national landscape, and in the same vein, the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 (under review), its ancillary Mining Regulations 2011 and many policy initiatives of this Ministry have enough provisions to address the various issues that are germane to all stakeholders such as the transfer of social and economic benefits, environmental remediation, revenue accruals, checkmating insecurity and all forms of illegality, and so on.’
While saying that the Association does not condone illegality, he noted that the slogan behind the logo of the association is, ‘Watchdog of the Mining Industry,’ adding that its membership policy does not accommodate unlicensed operators.
He went further to emphasize the need for government to tackle the challenges of illegality in the solid minerals sector from an all-inclusive approach, from the point of institutional frameworks, not only the scavenging activities of artisanal miners.
Ayanleke stated: ‘We are worried that the current multiple standards of regulations will demotivate genuine investors. If anything at all, it can only attract shady investors that will further corrupt our system and make our reformative dreams a mirage.
‘We hereby implore you to use your good office to engender a sanitized regulatory regime whereby all stakeholders will be on the same page in line with constitutional provisions and all extant statutes and regulations,’ Ayanleke added.
He appealed to the minister to call some Federal Government agencies to order, especially the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), saying: ‘Despite several court judgements against NIWA, mining title holders, especially those at the coastline corridors are constantly harassed by NIWA operatives.’
‘We also humbly solicit for an intra-agency approach to settle this logjam once and for all,’ he added.
On the need for funding, he recalled that the immediate past administration made a funding commitment as a social intervention to empower the artisanal and small-scale miners, who constitute the larger percentage of operators in the sector. He however explained that for over six years, the fund has remained inactive in the vault of the Bank of Industry, BoI, which volunteered to add a counterpart fund of #2.5b to the initial #2.5b from the Federal Government, bringing the total to #5b.
The President appealed to the minister, stating: ‘Your Excellency, on behalf of all the players in the sector, MAN solicits that your administration consider the deployment of this fund to structure equipment leasing facilities to mining clusters as a backward integration to the cluster centres established in the geopolitical zones of the country,’ adding that this arrangement will go a long way to improve the working capacity of small scale leaseholders.
He said it will also ensure improved supply chains to the cluster minerals buying centres which the minister had promised to upgrade to minerals processing facilities in his 8-Point Agenda.
While saying that the association appreciates the investment of some foreign nationals in the exploitation of Nigeria’s natural resources, he noted that as a patriotic corporate citizen, MAN frowns at the current regime of massive exportation of the country’s solid mineral resources in their raw forms.
He made the point that ‘a mineral-rich nation can have poor citizens if its government does not take audacious steps needed to activate the opportunities of wealth creation,’ and quoted the minister as saying that ‘Nigeria and Nigerians should have no business with poverty in view of the enormous solid mineral endowments of the country.’
‘It is in this regard that we task the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through your office, to exert efforts to invite technologies and expertise that will leverage on our endowments for huge industrial revolution, just as our leaders turned our agricultural resources into huge industrial and economic development in the pre and post-independence Nigeria,’ he added.
He further called on the Minister to improve the capacity of the MDAs in order to improve their mandate delivery, stating that the degree of illegality and insecurity witnessed in the sector would have been minimal if the human and logistics capacity of the various departments are better than what they are at the moment.
He gave an example, saying: ‘Solid minerals occur in almost every locality of Nigeria, with mining locations spread in every nook and cranny. The deployment of one Mines Officer per state and one ASM officer for two states, with little or no logistics, is like a declaration of field day for illegal operators and the people of the underworld,’ adding that the Minister needs to deploy funds needed to improve the human and logistics capacities of the various departments and agencies.
He seized the opportunity to invite the Minister to the 8th edition of the Nigeria Mining Week, scheduled for October 16 to 18, adding that the Association looks forward to the usual support of the Ministry as the proud host of this annual gathering that has been registered as the signature event of the Nigerian solid minerals sector.
In his response, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake thanked the visiting delegation of MAN and reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to diversify the economy from hydrocarbons by making the solid minerals sector a major revenue earner for government.
Director, Press and Public relations in the Ministry, Alaba Balogun in a statement, confirmed the visit of the MAN Team, adding that the delegation comprised representatives of the VUKA group, co-organizer of the forthcoming Nigeria Mining Week and Price Waterhouse Coopers, a foremost accounting firm.
According to Balogun, the Minister commended the Association for it’s suggestive recommendations and consistent role in organizing the Mining Week, adding that Nigeria has been operating mono-cultural economy for a long time, noting that the shift to solid minerals is overdue.
The statement quoted the Minister as saying: ‘Our vision is to make solid minerals our pride, a major contributor to Nigeria’s gross domestic product. We will diversify from oil, to exploit it for survival of Nigeria. This is our own contribution to climate change.’
The Minister assured that government is committed to making requisite policies that will sanitize the regulatory framework and make it more conducive for local and foreign investors.
The statement said: ‘On the issue of incursion by the second tier of government into mining, Dr Alake stressed that the Federal Government, will engage State and local Governments with a view to resolving surrounding issues within the ambit of the law.’
Speaking on securing the mining sector environment for maximum yield to the Federal government, the Minister revealed that high end technology will be deployed alongside inter-agency taskforce to completely address the menace.
The Minister therefore, sought partnership with the Miners Association of Nigeria to strengthen capacity in this regard for the growth and repositioning of the solid minerals sector.
