The annual sessions of the National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources Development have enhanced the economic diversification plans of the President Buhari administration.
The permanent secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Oluwatoyin Akinlade, made this comment on Monday during the opening ceremony of the three-day 4th edition of the mining and minerals development conference, with the theme; “Realigning The Minerals And Metals Industry To Address The Impacts Of The COVID-19 Pandemic.”
In a statement by the ministry, signed by Mr Ijomah E. Opia for the director of press and public relations in the ministry yesterday, Dr Akinlade told participants that the Ministry was the only Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) that met its revenue target in 2020, the year following the last Council meeting in Ekiti State before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and that while the palliative funds resulting from the ravaging pandemic were being deployed to other uses in most MDAs, the Ministry embarked upon what is known as Economic Sustainability Projects (ESP) in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country to stimulate economic activities that will create sustainable wealth for the people of the country.