The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has partnered with the foremost consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to execute policies under the seven point roadmap to transform the sector.
Mr Segun Tomori, Special Assistant, Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Sunday.
Alake, while receiving the PWC partner on mining, Mr Habeeb Jaiyeola, commended the company for its role in the just concluded Nigerian Mining Week and the first phase of the bitumen concession programme.
The minister thanked the consulting firm for their contributions to the mining sector over the years, assuring that the expertise and ideas of PWC would be factored into reforms of the mining sector and implementation of the seven-point agenda.
He said President Bola Tinubu was focusing on the sector as a game changer in the bid to reposition the country for lasting prosperity.
Presenting the thoughts of PWC on the seven point agenda, Jaiyeola expressed the readiness of PwC to partner with the ministry in achieving objectives of the agenda.
He added that the company was seeking to make the solid minerals a key sector to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country.
“We summarised our thoughts on the 7-point agenda, looking at it and suggesting how to bring it to life whilst advising on pitfalls and how to avoid them.
“The major thing is that at the end of the tenure of the administration, there will be key deliverables that can be monitored, and the roadmap on how each of them is going to be achieved and projected.
“We will be open to further deliberations on how we can proceed by comparing notes,” Jaiyeola said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the minister had reeled out a seven-point agenda tagged: “Agenda for the Transformation of the Solid Minerals Sector for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity”.
Alake said these included creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, Big Data on specific seven priority minerals and their deposits, comprehensive review of all mining license amongst others.