The Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development and the governors of Enugu and Ebonyi States have stressed the need for collaboration between the Federal and State Governments for effective and profitable harnessing of the vast potential available in the nation’s solid minerals sector.
The chairman, Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Senator Ekong Sampson, governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, and his Ebonyi State counterpart, Francis Nwifuru, made the call separately when the Senate Committee paid them courtesy visits in their offices in Enugu and Abakaliki, respectively.
The chairman and members of the legislative Committee had visited the two states on oversight activities to mining sites in the two States.
Other members of the committee during the visits included the Vice Chairman, Senator Kabeeb Mustapha, Deputy Majority Whip of the Senate, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, Senate Anthony Ani, Senator Kelvin Chukwu, Senator Diket Plang and Senator Okechukwu Ezea.
Senator Sampson said: “On behalf of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, we are here further to our oversight. We were in Ebonyi state where we went round some mining sites, to see how we can deepen the policies about mining in this country.
“We are here further to the mandate the Senate gave us to go round this country, and see how we can deepen the policies about mining in this country.
“So we have come here to compare notes and then to go round some mining sites, form a welter of recommendations which we are going to make to the Senate.
“The solid minerals sector is one sector that clearly will help to drive the economy of Nigeria.
“We have depended a lot on oil and it is time for us to look beyond oil and the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We will eliminate a lot of oil. We still feel that we have to look beyond oil and the federal government, ably led by our dear President through our renewed hope agenda, is taking the sector very, seriously.
“Appropriating the sum of N1trillion in the 2025 budget, clearly signpost a roadmap that government has for the sector.
“So there have been a clear departure from the past and a very serious compass that the government is bringing to bare to help drive this sector at this time so that we can deepen the plans of our economy.
“These visits have been designed to interface with the stakeholders. We did that in Ebonyi yesterday. Today we are here.
“We also intend to go around some mining sites, see things for ourselves and explore further the huge opportunities that the sector presents for your state.
“Truly, we are committed to a partnership that will further drive the prospects for our people. This is a movement of the renewed hope agenda of the President.
“These are also times for collaboration. We’ve noted that for us to meaningfully drive the mining sector, there has to be a level of collaboration among the entire government. No level of government can go it alone if we are to harness the full potential for mining in the country.
“The centre has to work with the states and the states of course has to work with the locals. There must be a synergy that’s winning. Because the sector is full of potential, it’s full of endowments, and we can maximize the advantage.”
On his part, the governor of Enugu state, Peter Mbah, noted that the country is basically sitting on a huge wealth but sometimes struggles to get access to the wealth.
“I also think that these committee’s task is of utmost importance,” he said. “It’s a very important task because solid minerals hold a very huge economic opportunity for this country, particularly when we think or talk about economic diversification.”
He added: “I think that we do not have any sector that holds the potential as much as the solid minerals’ sector does and somehow, it appears we are suffering from the tragedy of the commons.
“So I think that with the review of the Mining Act that is ongoing, I’m sure that you would ensure that there’s a lot of more state inclusion, more state participation in the exploration or exploitation of solid minerals because I think both for the national and the sub-national, it holds very huge potential. So this is why your committee is of immense importance to the entire country.
“And then, of course, the collaboration. I believe that if we collaborate with you and then you are able to maybe even have technical sections with us, we can also talk about, part of the major challenge in even exploring fully the mining sector or the solid mineral sector is lack of data and then when you have them, they are either obsolete or not current and even when they are current they are not enough for one to make investment decisions with.
“So that is why I talked about the tragedy of the commons because if there is a clear line of responsibility and one understands clearly what the corresponding benefit is, then we are then able to invest or to attract big companies that would invest in the mining or in the solid mineral sector.”
Earlier, while receiving the Committee in Abakaliki on Monday on behalf of Governor Francis Nwifuru, his deputy, Princess Patricia Obila, said the state was ready to partner the Senate and the Federal Government to ensure that solid minerals are safely mined and made beneficial to Nigerians at all levels.
Obila said: “Here in Ebonyi State, we still have a lot to be done as regards the solid minerals ministry. We have a lot of mineral deposits untapped in this our area and for you to come to Ebonyi State, it is commendable.
“We are highly determined and committed to having a good synergy because we need to tap all these resources and when all of them are fully tapped, it will not only increase our Internally Generated Revenue, it will help the state.
“Not just the state alone, we will pay our royalties to the federal government and by the time you know it, everybody will benefit. So we really need your cooperation.”
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