Dele Alake, the minister of solid minerals, has requested the mining companies operating in Nasarawa State’s local government area to cohabit peacefully.
The minister also revealed that Nasarawa State is ranked fourth out of all the states that provide more than one billion naira to the federation’s budget through solid mineral royalties from mining operations.
The minister made this announcement yesterday at Government House Lafia, when he escorted a high-level ministry team to inform the governor that Nasarawa State has been given permission to host the 6th National Council for Mining and Mineral Resources Development in November 2024.
Under the representation by Engineer Obadiah Simon Nkom, Director General of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, the minister stated that Nasarawa was lower than the states of Ogun, Osun, and Kogi.
The DG highlighted how crucial it was to settle any outstanding disputes between mining companies in the state before the beginning of the 6th National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources, which is scheduled to take place in November of this year.
He applauded the governor’s development efforts in the solid mineral sector, which prompted the federal government to grant the state permission to host the November council conference.
“Apart from the 6th upcoming national meeting, there is need to be able to look at Nasarawa State itself. Cutting across the development in the sector, you will agree with me that the governor has contributed a lot in the Renewed Hope Agenda in the mineral sector as demonstrated in the groundbreaking event of lithium processing, and the avatar new energy lithium processing plant in Nasarawa LG as the largest lithium processing factory in the world.
“No wonder, Nasarawa State assumed an investment haven for solid mineral and other businesses to thrive as a result of the business enabling climate, your administration has created from its policies and programmes,” the minister stated.
The Honourable Minister’s letter authorising the 1.5 square kilometre donation of Ende village, Nasarawa LG, to Nasarawa State was delivered by the DG.
This action seeks to settle the disagreement over the 3.5 square kilometres between two Chinese corporations.
“I understand the importance of that summit; it will be an engagement of stakeholders that will give opportunity for peace and security of the mining site and will also provide great opportunity for the economic development and economic empowerment of our people,” Governor Abdullahi Sule responded, thanking the Minister of Solid Minerals for granting the state’s approval to host the 6th national meeting.
“These are the reasons we are quick in accepting to be the host of this very important council meeting, it is a meeting that is going to draw a lot of other stakeholders, especially investors, miners and regulators who are going to be part of the event. There is no better time than now when Nigeria is looking for other resources of revenue,” he said.
