Gov Fayemi reiterates Fed Gov. commitment to boost economy through solid minerals

The Minister of solid minerals and natural resources, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has called on Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria products as a crucial step to boost the economy of the country. Fayemi made this call at the median edition of new telegraph economic summit with theme, Nigeria: beyond the oil economy, held at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday. According to fayemi, As a prodigal generation, we wasted years of Oil boom after Oil boom, failing to leverage what should otherwise be a blessing, neither improving the standard of life and living of Nigerians nor saving for rainy days. The resource trap was sustained over the years till the dramatic reversal of our fortunes in recent times, with falling oil prices in the global market and prevailing challenges relating to the Oil and Gas industry now making it imperative on us to pursue the diversification of our economy’s revenue base. “The Muhammadu Buhari administration’s determination to fix the Mining and Agriculture sectors of our economy is simply an effort to re-enact the glorious days gone by and reclaim this promise. Speaking specifically about the Mining Sector, the minister said a virile mining industry is not new to Nigeria, adding that mining of resources in the country began as far back as 1902 in key mining towns such as Jos and Enugu. “Mining was a major contributor to Nigeria’s revenue base and was a leading employer of skilled and unskilled labour. “The low contribution of the mining sector to the nation’s GDP has not always been the case as Nigeria once had a booming mining industry. Like the agricultural sector the discovery of oil resulted in the gradual neglect of the sector. Before the oil boom, Nigeria’s economy was largely sustained by agriculture and exploration of solid minerals. “President Buhari has repeatedly affirmed that a core pillar of this administration’s economic policy is the repositioning of two major industries – Mining and Agriculture, with a view to maximally exploiting their potentials to increase government revenue, create jobs, and expand. “We have a regime of robust mining legislations, pro-growth policies, and supporting regulation, which are currently being examined to see how we can improve on them. “We also have strong and growing support from key international partners and institutions. We believe that these together serve to inspire confidence about our commitment to creating a globally competitive platform for local and international players in Nigeria’s mining and minerals processing sector. “Our main strategy for attracting local and international investors to a resurgent Nigerian mining industry is our demonstrated commitment to policy predictability, coherence, accountability and transparency in the sector. Limestone is a good example of one mineral we have gotten right, and have an enviable success story to share. Deposits of Limestone abound in Sokoto, Gombe, Benue, Kogi, Edo, Oyo, Ebonyi, Ogun and Cross River States. National Annual Demand is About 18 Million Tons with eight Cement Companies Operating In Nigeria. “Even though Nigeria has had known endowments in limestone and gypsum for decades, this did not result in self-sufficiency in cement production until local producers like Dangote, BUA Group, Lafarge Plc e.t.c. were encouraged through deliberate government policy to increase local production.” Fayemi explained that with an aggressive import substitution strategy via the local manufacturing of cement, the local cement manufacturers have moved Nigeria from being a net-importer of cement to a net-exporter in less than a decade. According to him, “Almost $10 billion was saved in foreign exchange over the last 10 years, with $2 billion in savings in 2014 alone. The Dangote Group alone is projected to earn over $600m in 2016 from cement exports.” “The limestone success story is a win-win one that has created shared prosperity for all stakeholders. We are open and ready to support the replication of this model with the mining of other minerals for all investors.”