The National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) has stated that foreigners benefit more from Nigeria’s solid minerals due to lax regulations.
The Director General of NIPSS, Ayo Omotaya, during a joint press conference with a public relations firm, Bruit Costaud, in Abuja, yesterday said the solid minerals sector must be repositioned as it is critical for the development of the nation’s economy.
He said despite Nigeria being endowed with several minerals; it has not contributed significantly to uplift Nigerians from poverty as it is dominated by artisanal miners.
“Our inability to take a decisive action on this has led to “outsiders” coming to explore and extract some of these minerals while illegal and unscrupulous elements capitalise on this to milk the nation dry,” he said.
He pointed out that the federal government has over the years explored many efforts to address the problems and challenges of mining but it has not yielded positive outcomes.
While stating that there seems to be a lot more to be done to realise the full potential of the sector, he said the institute is partnering Bruit Costaud for a summit to provide a platform for all stakeholders in the mining industry to deliberate and reflect on the best strategies to achieve a sustainable development of the sector.
He however called on all stakeholders particularly the decision makers, field workers and investors to hearken to the clarion call for national emancipation by coming out promptly despite their tight schedules to attend the all-important forthcoming summit.
On his part, a former minister of information, Lai Mohammed, while responding to questions, said he decided to venture into mining due to its significance to national development and added that Mr President has identified it as one of the sectors that can be used to turn around the economy.
