Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has appealed to the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals to increase the 2024 budgetary allocation from its current N24 billion to a swooping N250 billion.
Alake made this appeal on Wednesday while appearing before the committee, adding that such an increase in allocation will enable the ministry to contribute to at least 50% of the country’s GDP.
According to the Minister, the worth of mineral deposits in Nigeria is around $700 billion yet the country is yet to unlock the full potential of the sector due to bottlenecks and other encumbrances.
Speaking further, Alake noted that the government can not leave the sole responsibility of mineral exploration to the private sector alone.
According to him, Nigeria has about 44 viable solid mineral deposits in the country, which are in high global demand.
Furthermore, the Minister also contended that well-connected Nigerians are providing support to illegal miners, leading to increased incidents of banditry and insecurity.
He affirmed that Illegal miners found at mining sites have very powerful Nigerians backing them up. The minister, however, said that the government was making efforts to identify these individuals.