The Federal Government is committed to lifting about 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years through the diversification of the nation’s economy from crude oil to solid minerals exploration and exportation.
It said if all the revenue generated from over 44 mineral resources in Nigeria are properly harnessed, it would increase the revenue base of the country.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architecture Olamilekan Adegbite, who disclosed this during the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on the Optimisation of Revenue from Mineral Resources Sector, said blockage of mineral revenue leakages and proper recording would boost the economy and encourage more people to go into mining which would lift the masses out of poverty.
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He, therefore, tasked the committee to ensure that revenue generated from artisanal miners’ activities are recorded and work out ways to block leakages from illegal mining accruals.
In his acceptance speech, the Minister of State Mines and Steel Development and Chairman of the committee, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, assured the minister of commitment towards looking at the cause of the current low revenue generation in the sector and find ways of blocking such leakages.
He further promised to work relentlessly to achieve its mandate of generating revenue and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation.
Other members are: The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu; Representative of Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers; Representative of Nigerian Society of Engineers; Representative of Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; Engineer Adeyemo-Mining Consultant; Representative of Miners Association of Nigeria; Representative of Civil Explosives Dealers Association of Nigeria and Alhaji Sani Shehu- Head Mining Group among others.
and then