The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite, has said that the ministry has a target of increasing the mining sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, by 5% in 2025. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Adegbite lamented that mining which contributed about 12 per cent of the country’s GDP in the 1950s was now neglected.
He said the government intend using the forthcoming annual mining week, to kick-start the process of bringing back the glorious days of mining and put Nigeria back on the mining map of the world. “This year, we are hoping to have 2,000 participants from all over the word that will join us. We are looking forward to attracting big formal sector mining companies into Nigeria,” he added.
Also speaking, President of the Miners’ Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu, said that “the annual gathering is aimed at providing support for the development of the local workforce and the mechanization of the industry and at facilitating the dialogue between private and public sectors across the value chain, to boost the future of mining in Nigeria through collaboration and partnerships.”
He added that with a network of industry leaders, investors, visionaries and pioneers, transforming the face of mining in the country, Nigeria Mining Week would afford the opportunity to uncover the latest projects, meet new partners, and land new deals”. Shehu said the fifth edition of the Nigeria Mining Week, which will take place in a digital format, for the first time, will drive vital revenues for suppliers and mining operators, so important to all stakeholders at this time.
