The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has pledged the ministry’s support to the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) in developing the region’s mineral resources.
Alake made the commitment when a delegation from the SSDC, led by its Director-General, Ms Usoro Offiong Akpabio, visited the ministry on a courtesy call.
A statement of the visit was made available to newsmen by Alake’s Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Lara Owoeye-Wise, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Minister said the engagement was significant to the Federal Government’s agenda of engaging geopolitical development commissions in shoring up development across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
He said the South-South, known for its oil and gas reserves, was strategically positioned in Nigeria’s economic diversification drive due to its significant deposits of solid minerals.
According to him, ongoing reforms by the ministry are repositioning the sector as a major driver of industrialisation through local value addition, responsible mining, investment promotion and stronger regulation.
Alake said the reforms had resulted in increased revenue accruing to the Federal Government from the sector and attracted more than $2.6 billion in foreign direct investment.
The reforms, he said, had supported the establishment of mineral processing facilities that were creating employment opportunities for Nigerians across the country.
He urged South-South states to leverage the Federal Government’s framework for direct state participation in mining through state-owned Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and secure mining titles through lawful channels.
“Several states have already secured mining licence approvals through this framework,” he said.
He, however, cautioned states against introducing unilateral mining policies, emphasising that regulatory consistency was essential to boosting investor confidence and preventing multiple authorities in the sector.
“We have a commonality of objective; we just need to harmonise our strategies and tactics to achieve it,” he said.
Alake assured the delegation that the ministry would involve the SSDC in such engagements, aimed at showcasing mineral opportunities in the region to boost investment.
Speaking earlier, Akpabio said the SSDC was seeking partnership with the ministry on sustainable mining, environmental innovation, investment and job creation.
She said the commission would align its activities with the ministry’s policies as well as collaborate with state authorities and security agencies, particularly in the training and formalisation of artisanal miners.
The minister said SSDC leadership also agreed on the need for regional stakeholder and investment engagements to showcase specific mineral opportunities and connect investors with projects across the South-South.
The engagement is part of growing collaboration between the Ministry and geopolitical development bodies established by the Tinubu administration.
The collaboration underscores the Federal Government’s emerging strategy of linking Nigeria’s mineral resources with the new regional development architecture to drive investment, industrialisation, employment and sustainable development across the geopolitical zones.
