The African Development Bank (AfDB) has endorsed the federal government’s road map for mining, ahead of the public presentation of the document by the ministry of solid minerals development.
Titled: “Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry- On the Road to Shared Mining Prosperity,” the document was a comprehensive policy agenda for Nigeria’s mining and mineral sector.
The roadmap, which has received inputs from different stakeholders and state governments, is awaiting approval of the Federal Executive Council(FEC) before its official unveiling.
AfDB country director, Dr. Ousmane Dore, said the bank had reviewed the mining roadmap and was prepared to partner with the ministry of solid minerals development to actualise it.
Ousmane, who spoke at the opening session of the International Mining and Investment Conference/Exhibition on Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, was responding to the minister of solid minerals development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who challenged local and international financial institutions to invest in the sector.
Ousmane said the AfDB was also prepared to support the sector by providing funding for mining operations as well as technical assistance.
He said the comprehensive nature of the mining roadmap shows the federal government’s commitment to the re-positioning of 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 the ministry had resolved to overcome the challenges confronting it in a bid to re-position the sector to contribute 5 to 7 per cent to the gross domestic product 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,” said the minister.
Fayemi added that the recently approved Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) were very supportive of the aspiration.
