(5 minutes read)
· Nigerian Minister of State Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, has set up a committee to accelerate sustainable development in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector
· Because of the drop in the prices of crude oil, which is the main source of foreign exchange and employment, the country is looking at developing alternative industry to surge ahead with its development plans
Nigerian Minister of State Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, has set up a committee to accelerate sustainable development in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector. Named as Joint Technical Committee with the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), on Funding Intervention Support, the body is tasked to come out with plans for funding various industrial development plans.
Ogah called on members of the committee to look into areas of synergy that would ensure the sector gets adequate funding for its operations to act as an alternative to oil and gas as a source of revenue generation for the country. Because of the drop in the prices of crude oil, which is the main source of foreign exchange and employment, the country is looking at developing alternative industries to surge ahead with its development plans. It could also create jobs and wealth, increase the revenue base, reduce poverty levels, and provide industrialization and infrastructure for Nigerians. The Committee has been asked to bring out a blueprint that would assess ways of generating and actualizing funding needed for the sector’s success.
The members of the Committee include Aliyu A. Abdulkadir – Chairman Solid Minerals Monitoring Committee (RMAFC); Rilwan Abarshi – Chairman Public Relations and Publicity Committee; Wenah Asondu Temple – Vice Chairman Solid Minerals Monitoring Committee; Rabiu Kabiru – Acting Director, Solid Minerals; and Tanimu Aliyu – Acting Director, Fiscal Efficiency and Budget.
The committee will identify areas requiring funding; identify sources for funding interventions and identify and establish the revenues being generated from the Solid Minerals value chain as revenue from the sector. They are also to recommend ways the Fiscal Commission can provide funding support for the sector development; and continuous monitoring and evaluation of the utilization of funds.
