Yero tasks NEITI on solid minerals sector development

Gov. Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna state has suggested the investment of pension funds in the solid minerals sector to boost long term economic growth. This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Ogbonnaya Orji, the Director of Communications, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in Abuja.

The Governor made the suggestion when he received the Board and Management of NEITI in Kaduna. Yero expressed concern that the fund had remained dormant in most commercial banks without being channelled to sectors where they could be used to grow the economy and create jobs.

He identified the solid minerals sector as one area where the fund could serve as an engine of investment. The governor urged NEITI to give the same attention it has been giving to the oil and gas sector, to the solid mineral industry.

He promised to meet and share knowledge with strategic stakeholders on how the fund could be used to drive the sector. Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, said the organisation was partnering with Ministry of Mines and Steel on the development a legal frame work similar to the one with the Petroleum Industry.

“The proposed legislation for the solid minerals industry is designed to provide clear legal road map required to drive the reforms and investment potentials in the sector,’’ Ahmed said. She said that research conducted by NEITI indicated that there was huge commercial deposit of all kinds of solid minerals in all the states, especially in the northern states. Ahmed listed some of the minerals as gold, tin, limestone, bitumen, zinc, iron-ore and silver.