The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uche Ogah, on Monday, lamented that the Central Bank of Nigeria had not been supporting the development of the mines and solid mineral sector.
The minister made the lamentation at a two-day public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines, Steel Development and Metallurgy.
The forum was aimed at getting inputs of stakeholders to the contents of four bills on how to achieve rapid development of the solid minerals sector.
The bills are: Nigerian Minerals Development Corporation Establishment Bill 2021, Solid Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission Establishment Bill 2021, Institute of Bitumen Management Establishment Bill 2021, and the Explosive Act 1964 Repeal and Re-enactment Bill 2021.
The panel will also investigate the loss of $9bn annually due to illegal mining and smuggling of gold.
Ogah said, “It is unfortunate that the Central Bank of Nigeria did not believe in us.
“If they believe in us, if they support us the way they are supporting agriculture, we will do wonders for this country.
“This is one ministry that is untaped, that is unknown, that can change the landscape of our revenue.”
The minister said there was need to support research for growth of the sector.
He said, “Equally, we need to ask the Ministry of Finance to speed up the export policy on solid minerals because that is the only way to have operators into the sector.”
Ogah urged citizens to be involved in checking the activities of intruders in the mining sub-sector.
