Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has pledged the ministry’s full support to the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) to harness the region’s mineral resources for investment, job creation and sustainable development.
Alake gave the assurance when the Director-General of the SSDC, Ms Usoro Offiong Akpabio, led a delegation of the commission on a courtesy visit to the ministry in Abuja.
The minister said the engagement was significant to the Federal Government’s broader agenda of using geopolitical development commissions established by President Bola Tinubu to accelerate development and unlock the economic potential of the country’s six geopolitical zones.
He noted that while the South-South was widely known for its vast oil and gas reserves, the region also possessed significant solid mineral deposits that could play a strategic role in Nigeria’s economic diversification drive.
Alake said ongoing reforms were repositioning the mining sector as a major driver of industrialisation through local value addition, responsible mining, investment promotion and stronger regulation.
He said the sector had recorded significant progress since the commencement of the reforms, including increased revenue accruing to the Federal Government, more than $2.6 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the emergence of mineral processing facilities that have created jobs for Nigerians across the country.
The minister urged South-South states to take advantage of the Federal Government’s framework for direct state participation in mining through state-owned Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and properly obtained mining titles.
“Several states have already secured mining licence approvals through this framework,” he said.
Alake, however, cautioned against unilateral state policies on mining, stressing that regulatory consistency was necessary to sustain investor confidence and prevent multiple or conflicting authorities in the sector.
“We have a commonality of objective; we just need to harmonise our strategies and tactics to achieve it,” he said, while assuring the commission of the ministry’s cooperation.
Earlier, Akpabio said the SSDC was seeking a practical partnership with the ministry on sustainable mining, environmental innovation, investment and job creation.
She said the commission would align its activities with the ministry’s policies and work with state governments and security agencies, particularly on the training and formalisation of artisanal miners.
The minister and SSDC leadership also agreed on the importance of regional stakeholder and investment engagements to showcase specific mineral opportunities and connect investors with projects across the South-South.
Alake said the ministry would involve the SSDC in such engagements, describing the commission as a potential driver of deeper investment and development in the region.
The collaboration is part of the Federal Government’s growing strategy of linking Nigeria’s mineral resources with the new regional development architecture to drive investment, industrialisation, employment and sustainable development across the geopolitical zones.
