The Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for extending the tenure of Hajia Fatimah Shinkafi as the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI). The association described her reappointment as a “Divine call” to propel Nigeria’s solid minerals sector toward realizing its vast untapped potential.
In a statement signed by its National President, Dele Ayanleke, MAN congratulated Shinkafi on her renewed mandate and urged her to focus on forging impactful partnerships, particularly with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), to attract pragmatic investments capable of transforming the sector.
Strategic Focus Areas
The association outlined key priorities for Shinkafi’s continued leadership, including:
Securing Partnerships: Expanding collaborations with both local and international stakeholders to empower small-scale leaseholders pivotal to wealth creation and poverty alleviation.
Utilizing Idle Funds: Collaborating with the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Henry Oladele Alake, to repatriate and judiciously utilize the ₦2.5 billion Federal Government intervention fund for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), currently dormant in the Bank of Industry for nearly a decade.
Upgrading SMDF Capacity: Revising the SMDF’s operational guidelines to establish it as Nigeria’s foremost financial institution for the mining sector.
Challenges in Sector Financing
Ayanleke emphasized the reluctance of Nigerian financial institutions to develop tailored products or create dedicated desks for mining sector financing. He highlighted the critical need for SMDF’s leadership to incentivize large-scale investments and provide financial support to indigenous miners for infrastructure development.
Call for Stakeholder Collaboration
The MAN President urged greater collaboration between Shinkafi and key stakeholders in crafting policies and strategies that would bridge financing gaps and enhance the productivity of Nigeria’s mining sector.
“There is an urgent need to upgrade the SMDF’s capacity to incentivize large-scale investments and empower local miners. We are optimistic that under Hajia Shinkafi’s continued leadership, the sector will witness unprecedented growth,” Ayanleke said.
Commitment to Support
MAN pledged its unwavering support for Shinkafi’s leadership and expressed confidence in her ability to steer the sector toward becoming a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts.
“Once again, I congratulate you and wish you a most fruitful and successful tenure,” Ayanleke concluded.
The renewed focus on strategic investments and sectoral reforms underscores the critical role of the solid minerals sector in advancing Nigeria’s economic growth and diversification agenda.
