Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria would only harness the full potentials in the sector if the country adopts a collaborative and cooperative approach.
The VP made the comments on Thursday in his virtual speech delivered at the maiden edition of the Strategic Engagement on Sustainable Mining titled: Resurrecting our Buried Prosperity.
According to him, collaboration between governments and communities in Nigeria can be a game-changer and mean a new era of huge earnings and prosperity for Nigerians from the country’s mining resources.
“If we work together, we will reap far more than we could ever gain by working alone,” Osinbajo said.
Vice President Osinbajo said that the strategic engagement “would lead to the production of or the fine-tuning of a clear working document that spells out with clarity the roles and responsibilities of each party, the federal, the states, the local governments, and the mining communities.
“Even where these roles and duties have been defined in existing legislation, this is an opportunity to simplify the language, explain the relationships, take input on implementation concerns, and get everyone’s buy-in.”
While highlighting issues militating against the mining sector, Osinbajo offered some suggestions on the way forward for the mining sector.
On challenging he said: “While the Ministry of Mines and Steel has the legislative mandate to regulate mining in the country, many states and local governments have embarked on the imposition of their own rules and regulations on miners in their States, including issuance of registration, permits, Community Development Agreements (CDA) and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on miners.
“Some State Governments, in a bid to shore up their revenues, impose illegal fees, taxes, and levies on foreign and local licensed mining companies and operators.”
Proffering suggestions, the VP said: “the federal government, states and local governments have to jointly develop working arrangements to ensure that mining is attractive to investors, profitable for states and local governments, not just from proceeds but also from personal income tax paid to states by mine workers and staff of mining companies.
“The communities where mines are located must also have some direct benefits aside from jobs for their residents. We must find a formula for compensating the communities for environmental degradation and erosion.
“There must also be a framework for ensuring that environmental degradation is remedied.
“We must discourage the export of raw minerals. Refining, processing, or beneficiation is the only real way to maximize our mineral wealth and create good-paying jobs and opportunities for our people.”
He therefore urged all officers of the Ministry of Solid Minerals to rededicate themselves to the realization of the set target of a 6% contribution of the mining sector to the nation’s GDP by 2025.
