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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

FG backs South-South plan to unlock region’s mineral wealth

From The Punch · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Nigeria’s Federal Government backed the South-South Development Commission’s plan to develop the region’s solid mineral resources alongside its oil and gas industry.
  • Solid Minerals Minister Dele Alake said mining could create jobs, attract investment and support economic diversification.
  • Alake said reforms had attracted more than $2.6 billion in foreign direct investment to Nigeria’s mining sector and urged states to pursue mining through approved structures.

Nigeria’s Federal Government has endorsed a plan to unlock the South-South region’s mineral deposits, presenting mining as a way for the oil-producing area to broaden its economy beyond petroleum.

Solid Minerals Development Minister Dele Alake made the commitment in Abuja during a visit by a delegation led by Usoro Akpabio, director-general of the South-South Development Commission. He linked the proposed partnership to President Bola Tinubu’s wider plan to use the country’s six geopolitical development commissions to create economic opportunities and accelerate development.

Alake said the South-South could no longer rely solely on oil and gas when it also holds substantial solid mineral resources. Developing those deposits, he said, could support investment, job creation and sustainable development while contributing to the government’s diversification agenda.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has pledged the Ministry’s full support to the South-South Development Commission to harness the region’s solid mineral resources for investment, job creation and sustainable development.

— Nigeria’s Ministry of Solid Minerals DevelopmentThe ministry statement described the government’s commitment to the commission’s regional mining plan.

The minister said his ministry’s reforms aim to make mining a major driver of industrialization. The program emphasizes local processing, responsible mining, investment and stronger regulation. Alake also pointed to growing foreign investor interest and said the reforms had attracted more than $2.6 billion in foreign direct investment to Nigeria’s mining sector. New processing facilities, he added, had created employment opportunities.

Alake urged South-South states to use a federal framework that allows them to participate directly in mining through properly structured state-owned special purpose vehicles and valid mining titles. “Several states have already secured mining licence approvals through this framework,” he said. The government’s support places the region’s mineral wealth within its broader effort to reduce dependence on oil and expand non-oil growth.

Several states have already secured mining licence approvals through this framework.

— Dele AlakeAlake said states were already using the federal framework for direct participation in mining.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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