Last week, Dr Fayemi, the former Ekiti State governor, was sworn into office by President Muhammadu Buhari with a mandate to turn solid minerals into a major export earner. With global crude oil prices at about one third of what they were two years ago, President Buhari sees minerals and agriculture as the two sectors that will make up for government loss of revenue.
Assuming office, Dr Fayemi has promised illegal miners hard times, pointing out that he will invoke the extant laws to bring them to justice. Dr Fayemi said the Mining and Mineral Act 2007 provides the government with the legal weapon to prosecute illegal miners and saboteurs.
He added that the nation had the potential to become a global leading player in the sector with 44 key minerals, which, he said could be found in about 350 locations in the 36 states of Nigeria. Dr Fayemi identified poor management of the sector in the last 55 years of independence as the reason why Nigeria had not gotten enough return in terms of foreign exchange, investment and job opportunities from solid minerals.
Dr Fayemi said: “President Buhari came into government with strong integrity and we won’t allow the integrity quotient to reduce, so, whoever perpetrates illegality in the sector must start packing his load. We are ready to tackle the cartels in the sector and those who think they can continue will face the maximum wrath of the law.
“If you glean through what President Buhari said when he came into power, every comment is punctuated with preference for solid minerals and agriculture as areas of interest in his efforts to diversify the economy. So, Mr President has put me in his area of interest and I thank him for reposing confidence in me.
“Nigeria used to be a centre of excellence in solid minerals, particularly in tin and coal since 1903 before the First World War but when petrol came, we abandoned production of these two minerals and now, we have come to realise our mistake. We have coal in Enugu, diamond in Nasarawa, tin and columbite in Plateau and many other states, so, we have a lot of potential to tap and this we shall achieve."
He added that the ministry is blessed with experts in geophysics, mineral resources, geology, metallurgical and material engineering, and mineral engineering among others to translate the dream to reality. According to Dr Fayemi, although he may not be an expert in mineral resources management, he has superintended over every sector as a governor, so has the experience for the job.
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