Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Dr Dele Alake has stated that the availability of data on minerals in the country has placed the country on edge for foreign investments.
The Minister who made the statement during the opening ceremony of a Technical Forum of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, NGSA, in Abuja on Wednesday commended the agency for the milestones achieved so far in mineral exploration and reliable Geoscience data generation.
He however charged the Agency to do more, saying a lot more needed to be done as there would be no meaningful achievement in the sector until there is bankable data on mineral resources in the country.
The minister who was represented by the director, Human Resources in the Ministry, Mohammed Sulieman, underscored the critical importance of the NGSA to the development of the solid minerals sector pursuant to the economic diversification drive of the federal government.
“The ministry holds the NGSA in a very high esteem because the Agency plays a very prominent role in the realization of the renewed hope agenda of the present administration which emphasis is on the need to take the solid minerals sector to higher heights.
“We in the ministry are proud of the achievements of the Agency, and we believe that you can build on the achievements,” he said.
The director general of the agency, Dr Abdulrazaq Garba, who corroborated the Minister’s position on the on the criticality of the agency to the development of the sector explained that the Agency convened the NGSA Technical Forum to provide a veritable and robust platform for professionals in geosciences and mining, the academia, researchers, investors and the general public to be kept abreast of the agency’s progress in her traditional and evolving responsibilities to the nation.
He revealed that the agency is adopting and integrating innovative technology for data acquisition, data integration, modeling, and predictive geosciences, adding that geological surveys all over the world develop and adopt systems and structures adapted and tailored to their respective needs and peculiarities.
According to Dr Garba, the mandate of Geological Surveys in developed and developing economies has grown from basic geological mapping and resource assessment to earth systems monitoring and integrated data management as a strategy to enhance national security and development.
He said it is clear that while countries around the world adopt sustainable development principles and are reviewing challenges and dynamics of energy transitioning, a paradigm shift is expected in the geological surveys.
“The Geological Surveys are quickly evolving in order to cater for the expected increase in demands of a wide and diverse set of stakeholders,” he said.
He said the NGSA is strengthening its focus and resolve to generate qualitative data that will meet the requirements of all the relevant stakeholders in the sector, with activities that are geared towards the diversification of the national economy.
Director-General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, NMCO, Engr Obadiah Simon Nkom who also commended the contribution of the NGSA to national development, avowed that the MCO would continue to collaborate with the agency.
Engr Nkom described the Minister as a man of knowledge who has the capacity to bring about breakthroughs in the solid minerals sector.
He therefore called on stakeholders to take advantage of the opportune moment to reposition the sector.
