The Federal Government has stated that it had given out over N14 billion worth of contract on exploration in the mining sector in the past three years.
Immediate past Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Honourable Abubakar Bawa Bwari announced this at a get-together party organized in his honour by the ministry in Abuja.
Honourable Bwari, who stated that the project was still ongoing, therefore, urged his successor to maintain the tempo as his tenure as the minister had witnessed tremendous achievements.
He said, although his challenges were numerous while in office, the major one was funding and despite that, the ministry was able to discover potentials which the government must properly harness.
This, according to him, would improve revenue and create employment opportunities for the teeming youths who were roaming the streets.
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“They should maintain tempo, especially in the area of exploration. We need information, we need data, we need to know exactly what we have and what quantity. If that is done, it will better attract international investors, because we know that mining is an activity that required a lot of capital intensify and with potentials we have discovered, we need big-time investors.
“But they won’t come until the information is there. That is why we need information that is bankable and with that, they will come and there will be an improvement in revenue, youths will get employment because it will create jobs and mining will be done in the best standard practice.” He explained.
Among the important personalities, who graced the occasion were former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Gali Na’aba and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Abdulkadir Mu’azu.
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