A fully developed mines and steel sector will surpass other sectors of the economy in terms of export earnings and create more lucrative jobs and opportunities for many Nigerians.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated this at the opening of the 6th Edition of the Nigerian Mining Week in Abuja where he represented President Muhammadu Buhari as Special Guest of Honour.
He said the steel sector “will stimulate industrial growth as a local source of raw materials and improve the quality of lives in rural communities.
Assuring of government’s commitment to supporting mining activities towards shared prosperity for the Nigerian people, he said the event was “a very significant complement to our vision and sustained effort to accelerate the growth of the mining sector as a major contributor to Nigeria’s economic diversification programme.”
“This is why the Federal Government will continue to intensify its regulatory and supervisory role in ensuring that mining is held to the highest standards of sustainable development and intergenerational equity,” he added.
Osinbajo added: “The mining sector has always needed a transformational leap to contribute meaningfully to the envisioned economic growth of the country because, despite the glorious contribution of the mining sector to our national economy in the past and the abundance of mineral resources found in almost every state of the Federation, the growth of the sector stagnated for many years especially since the early 1970s. And there have been many notable efforts by previous administrations to wake up the sleeping giant that is the mining industry.”
