It’s Difficult To Convince Foreigners To Invest In Nigeria’s Mining Sector- Minister

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, has said it has been difficult to convince foreign investors to invest in the Nigeria’s mining sector.

Adegbite said this when he visited Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, at the Government House in Ibadan.

Advertisement

The minister said the nation had depended so much on oil and gas, saying this and other factors had made it difficult to convince some foreign investors.

He, however, said the situation had started changing because government efforts to diversify the economy had started yeilding results.

Adegbite said, “We are in Oyo State to bring awareness and to let people know more about what we are doing in the sector. At the same time, we have been doing a lot of international road shows. We go there and publicise mining in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is known for oil and gas and it is very difficult to convince people otherwise that mining can thrive in Nigeria. But we are getting some tractions because of the investment that has been put into the exploration of minerals in that sector.

Advertisement

“We have relied so much on oil and gas and whenever the vagaries of the oil prices happen in the international market, Nigeria catches the cold; our economy is in tatters. But to avoid that, there is massive injection of efforts and campaigns into agriculture, which has started yielding results.

“If not for the effort of the past four years, I think this pandemic would have caught us in more situations. But because we achieved some certain level of adequacy like feeding ourselves, that is why the strength of the pandemic was not so bad on our people. It could have been worse.”

The minister later said the governor had convinced him on the need to cite the gem stone market in Ibadan.

Makinde said Ibadan was the regional headquatters of the South-West and with many advantages on other states while stressing that the state was working to further expand the airport in Ibadan so that International flights could take off and land there.

Makinde said, “Ibadan used to be a regional capital and we have a fairly developed infrastructure. So, I think you should just give the gemstone market to us and let us sign it up this evening.

Advertisement

“Also, on the mineral surveillance programme, we were looking at doing that on our own, but we think that if we can collaborate with the Federal Government, that will allow us, from the outset, to key into that programme.

“One of the things that we always say here is that we are so much in a hurry to get things done and if the bureaucracy at the Federal Level will not allow things to happen as fast as we will love to see, then we can go ahead. But we can have the arrangement for the agreement that when you are indeed ready, we will just match that together. 

“We have seen cobalt here and we have also seen ledium here and when I looked at the quality, I think they told me it was about 70 per cent purity, when the entire world is looking for something around 40 per cent. So, for me, even though you classified it as something for the future, I think it is happening right now.

“Those are opportunities that we really want to wrap our fingers around in Oyo state. I also believe we do have challenges with the illegal miners. Not just here, I believe it is all over the country, but I believe it has to be sorted.”

Leave a comment

Advertisement