Nasarawa: Gov Sule
Nasarawa: Gov Sule seeks to Revolutionize Mining
Sector
The Governor of Nasarawa State, His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi
Sule, has expressed his determination to revolutionize the economy
of his state through the Mining sector, as the state as richly
endowed with solid mineral deposits. The Governor stated this when
he led a team of technocrats in his cabinet, to pay a courtesy
visit on the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel
Development, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu on Thursday, June 6, 2019 for
collaboration.
The Governor while unveiling his mission to the ministry,
informed the Permanent Secretary and the Directors of the ministry
that his administration is regarding the mining sector as first
among equals. He said that barely a week he assumed office and from
the findings so far there are a lot of dormant mining licenses
issued by the ministry to operators which could be re-issued to
Nasarawa State Government for proper utilization if possible. He
went further to request for accurate data of informal miners in his
state.
Emphasizing the outstanding relationship between Nasarawa State
and the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the Governor
promised to strengthen the relationship with a view to getting the
desired support to transform the economy of the state through
minerals mining. He however noted insecurity, lack of comprehensive
data of companies operating mining activities in the state, lack of
technical know-how of the informal miners as some of the challenges
militating against the growth of mining industry in the state.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel
Development, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu thanked the Governor for
considering MMSD as the first ministry to visit after his
inauguration. He informed the Governor that his state is one of the
most privileged state endowed with over thirty solid mineral
resources. According to him in spite of the numerous mining
licenses issued to operators in the state about 95% of them are
unused.
Also Dr. Mu’azu decried disruption of mining activities in some
communities in the state by indigenes; noting that the disagreement
is often as a result of the Land Use Act that gives the state
government authority over control of lands, of which the
communities usually claim ownership. He urged the Governor to use
his wealth of knowledge in the oil and mining industries to
intervene in addressing this and other challenges that prevent
smooth mining activities in the state.
He assured the Governor of the necessary support to boost mining
activities in the State. He also appreciated the State Government’s
kind gesture in providing accommodation for one of Ministry’s
agencies.
Eweama Sunny,
For Director(Press and Public Relation),
Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.
6th June, 2019.