MINERS under the auspices of Progressive Miners Association of Nigeria, PMAN, has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari over sycophants and cabals in the solid minerals sector as he moves to diversify the economy via the sector.
National President Chairman, PMAN, Sunny Ekozin, made the assertion during an interaction with journalists in Abuja, where Ekozin said the President should exert his constitutional authority of ownership of the sector for positive growth and development of the sector.
He said: “Based on the current administration solid minerals and agric sectors are the major sectors that can diversify the economy. To us as practitioners in the sector, we know the in and out of the mining sector, and it hold the key to the economic diversification of Nigeria from oil and gas.
“We believe that the unbundling of the sector can be a reality, and also we want the highest office of the land to know that when the right thing is done the sector can diversify our economy.
“For the abysmal performance of the sector in terms of contributing to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, of the country indicates that the right thing is not done in spite of the stimulus of funding of the sector.
“There are fundamental problems within the sector and leaders are not given the true position of things so as to take right decisions and measures because of sycophants. The fundamental problem includes lack of ownership responsibility. By the constitution and Minerals and Mining Act the administration of solid minerals is vested on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Until President Muhammadu Buhari assert his political will on this sector the sector will still remain comatose. All the noise and politicking is going to be stage-managed by the cabals that are in the shadow. If the President takes ownership sanity will come to the sector.”
He also maintained that the potential of the sector is huge and could be a panacea to youth unemployment. “We do that the endemic youth unemployment has its solution in solid minerals sector, because it is a sector In terms of potential in revenue generation from mining is so huge and it is accepted to both sides of ‘friends and foes’ of the sector, and we all know that the sector is heavily endowed”, he stated.
