By Bisola Adeyemo
As part of efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment in the county, the Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah has again stated that the country’s solid minerals would accelerate industrialisation and national development going by the momentum, would lead to achieving the Federal Government’s goals of wealth creation, massive employment opportunities, diversification and poverty reduction.
Ogah made this known in a statement signed on Tuesday by Senior Information Officer of Mines and Steel Development, Ijomah E Opia.
Uchechukwu, in his welcome address on the occasion of the study visit by SG7 of the Senior Executive Course 43 Participants Of The National Institute For Policy And Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru at the Ministry’s Headquarters, Abuja, who came to interact with the Management of the Ministry to rub minds on areas of collaboration and strengthen the sector for Economic Development.
He disclosed that the Ministry, as a Federal Government Agency is charged with the overall mandate of unlocking the economic potentials of the Mineral and Metal sector and ensuring sustainable growth for the peace and prosperity of Nigerians.
Ogah pointed out that the Ministry is currently wielding a Presidential directive to take a leading role in the diversification of the nation’s economy.
The Minister noted that it was remarkable and auspicious to have such an elite institution like NIPSS visit the Ministry to understudy the sector for the purposeful interactive dialogue on policy formulation and implementation strategies with respect to the development of the Nigerian Mineral resources for National Development.
Speaking also, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Oluwatoyin Akinlade said the ministry will work with all stakeholders and development Partners such as the NIPSS to develop the the industry,adding that she considers members of the Senior Executive Course 43 the elite group of strategic thinkers as valuable development partners in terms of National development and recognize their critical role to the achievement of the mandate of government particularly in the present social economic climate, expressing delight on the fact finding mission of the delegation with a bid to help resolve and give a headway to the critical areas in the Mineral and Metal industry.
Dr Akinlade said she will not allow the strategic team to leave the interactive meeting without proffering solutions to give management some ideas as to the way further to address the challenges.
She, therefore, challenged them to the fact that the Ministry is strategic to the Economic Development of the Federal government and for that reason all hands must be on deck to help the Ministry move forward.
In his address, the Head of the delegation of the Management and Senior Executive Course 43 Participants of the National Institute For Policy And Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Professor Audu Gambo, who represented the Director General of NIPSS, said that they were in the Ministry to study it, know the areas of development, achicollaboration, further development and to proffer relevant solutions knowing how critical the Ministry is to the economic development of the present government and the country at large.
