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The newly
deployed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and
Steel Development, Alhaji Adamu Kuta had solicited for an
unflinching support of the management and members of staff
of the Ministry and its Agencies for the development of the
minerals and metal sector.
The permanent Secretary
made the call during his maiden meeting with the Heads of
Agencies and Parastatals of the Ministry, Alhaji Kuta said
the team of management of the ministry and its agencies are
the pillars of the ministry and the success of the sector
lied sorely on them.
He said” You are the pillars
of the ministry, we rely on you to achieve much “.
The Permanent Secretary who
said the minerals and metal sector is very important to the
economy of Nigeria reiterated the present administration’s
commitment to focus on the development of other sectors of
the economy in which minerals and metal sector falls, apart
from overdependence on oil.
He said with good
dispositions to work, the full potentials of the nation‘s
solid mineral resources would be exploited for the economic
transformation of the country.
The Permanent Secretary said
the meeting which was at his instance was to acquaint
himself with Heads of agencies of the ministry as well as to
intimate them about his own style of management approach for
the minerals and metal sector to move forward.
Alhaji Kuta who said he was
coming into the ministry with the spirit of open-mindedness,
expressed his readiness to support and encourage Heads of
Agencies to succeed in their various assignments to move the
sector forward.
The Permanent Secretary
pointed out that there is currently a “new dawn”, with
necessary tools in the ministry in assisting the Minister on
the mandate of the minerals and metal sector to contribute
significantly to the transformation agenda of the present
administration.
He therefore urged Heads of
Agencies to carry their members of staff along in the
implementation of this new approach of administration in the
Ministry and its Agencies.
He noted that the new
direction of the Minister was to build synergy between the
ministry and its parastatals for an effective service
delivery in the minerals and metal sector forward.
According to him “The
direction of the Honourable Minister was to build synergy
between the ministry and its parastatals because this is the
only way the ministry can move forward “.
Alhaji Kuta who decried
excesses of some state governments on the control of the
nation’s solid mineral resources, which is on the exclusive
list of the Federal government said “What we need to do is
to articulate our position and prepare a council memo that
will help to checkmate the state governments, we will bring
the issue on the table to be discussed at the Economic
Council.
He disclosed that as part of
the efforts of the ministry to contribute appreciably to the
nation’s Gross Domestic Product in the area of revenue
generation, a committee on Revenue Generation would be
inaugurated by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development
soon.
While appealing to Heads of
agencies under the ministry to work together to move the
sector forward, Alhaji Kuta promised that the ministry would
continue to create a conducive working environment for its
members of staff .
The Permanent Secretary
thanked them for the meeting and promised that the meeting
would usually hold quarterly.
In the contribution of the
Project Coordinator, Sustainable Management of Minerals
Resources Project of the Ministry, Mr. Linus Adie, he said
the minerals and metal sector has been grossly underreported
at the National Bureau of Statistics over the years,
stressing that, there is the need for any agency of the
ministry making remittances into the Federation Account to
report such to the Ministry, as this would go along way at
ensuring that statistics about the performance of the
Ministry is adequately reported.
He noted that this was the
first time, the President of Nigeria would indicate interest
in the nation’s minerals and metal sector and this gesture
should be seen as a catalyst for the sustainability of the
sector.
The Provost, Nigerian
Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Prof. Idowu Odeyemi
said there was the need for the management team of the
ministry and its agencies to always come together for a
Review of activities as this would keep them abreast of
various activities within the ministry and its agencies. |
