The African Development Bank (AfDB) has endorsed Nigeria’s roadmap for mining ahead of the public presentation of the document by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
The document, which is titled “Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry: On the Road to Shared Mining Prosperity”, is a comprehensive policy agenda for Nigeria’s mining and mineral sector, according to a statement from the ministry signed by Olayinka Oyebode, who is the special assistant on media to the minister.
The Roadmap, which has received inputs from different stakeholders and state governments, is currently awaiting approval of the Federal Executive Council before its official unveiling.
Ousmane Dore, AfDB country director in Nigeria, said the bank has reviewed the mining roadmap and is prepared to partner with the ministry of solid minerals development in order to actualize it.
Dore, who spoke at the opening session of the International Mining and Investment Conference/Exhibition on Nigeria in Abuja, was responding to the minister of solid minerals development, Kayode Fayemi, who challenged local and international financial institutions to invest in the sector.
The AfDB country boss also explained that the bank is also prepared to support the solid minerals sector by providing funding for mining operations as well as technical assistance.
He acknowledged that the comprehensive nature of the mining roadmap shows that the federal government is committed to re-positioning the sector to meet its economic diversification plan.
Fayemi, had in his keynote address at the event, highlighted some provisions of the roadmap, emphasizing two key components of environmental justice and transparency.
The minister also said that his ministry has resolved to overcome the challenges confronting it in a bid to re-position the sector to contribute 5 to 7 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country in the next 10 to 15 years.
“Our mandate at the ministry of solid minerals development is to deterministically scale –up the capacities of the sector by transforming it into a strategy catalyst for domestic growth, in terms of creation of jobs and increased revenue, while achieving a high level of global relevance” he said.
Fayemi added that the recently approved Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) are very supportive of the aspiration to unlock Nigeria’s solid mineral potentials for overall economic gain and prosperity of the country.
