Nigeria Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, has hinted of a prospective partnership with the World Bank aimed at unlocking financial resources and technical assistance to propel the growth of Nigeria’s mining sector.
In a statement released by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Tuesday, revelations emerged concerning discussions between the government and the World Bank to foster the advancement of the nation’s mining industry.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, speaking during a courtesy visit to the Solid Minerals Minister, Dele Alake, expressed satisfaction with the renewed focus on the development of the nation’s mineral resources by the current administration.
According to Chaudhuri, Nigeria is well positioned to make the mineral sector a major contributor to its GDP since the country has the majority of economically viable minerals.
He reiterated the readiness of the bank to partner with the ministry on financing specific intervention areas and ensure effective implementation of projects.
The World Bank Director also stated that the multilateral institution is not restricted to providing financing alone, asserting it can offer technical assistance to improve mining operations in the country.
Responding, the minister praised the World Bank team for the visit, commending the institution for spearheading developmental efforts in diverse sectors of the economy over the years.
Alake said: “The World Bank has been able to redirect focus on developmental issues and projects in countries, especially Nigeria. Just recently, we had the support of the World Bank on palliatives being rolled out after fuel subsidy removal. We had appreciable support from the World Bank.
“I thank you for your involvement in the min diver project, which, unfortunately, is coming to a close. We look forward to strengthening collaboration, which will culminate in the needed funding for critical areas in the mining sector, alongside the requisite technical support, as earlier hinted.”
Throwing light on his vision for the mining sector, the Minister revealed that the first major priority is investment in exploration to generate the requisite geo-data that will guide investors in making informed decisions about investing in the sector. He also revealed that efforts are ongoing to establish efficient governance structures and secure the mining environment.
Alake further assured that the federal government is committed to providing an enabling environment to safeguard mining operations whilst ensuring maximum beneficiation to host communities and accruable revenue to government through royalties and taxes.
On the World Bank delegation were the Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri and World Bank program leader, equitable growth, finance innovation, Bertina Kamphuis.