The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has emphasised the significance of technology in sanitising and repositioning the mining sector for greater productivity to achieve a substantial contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Playing host to his counterpart in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Chief Uche Nnaji, Alake noted that the solid minerals sector relies on a huge dose of technology to sanitise it in areas such as the scientific geo-data generation, addressing security challenges and all other ancillary matters around the mining value chain. Alake said: “For instance, the security architecture that we are rejigging, we are going to inject a large measure of technology into it. Where else to go but the science, innovation and technology Ministry, to assist us in this regard and that’s why my brother Minister has come in and we are consolidating, discussing, and moving the issue forward to ensure that, at the end of the day, there is synergy in all our operations. That was part of the essence of the ministerial retreat we had last week. So the visit is in furtherance of our collaborative efforts to ensure that the solid minerals ministry is a beneficiary of all the innovations that will be pushed out”.
Nnaji affirmed the imperative of partnership to assist the solid minerals ministry to take advantage of innovations that will keep the minister abreast of activities within the mining sector.
“We have a lot of innovations in Science and Tech. We have a satellite approach to what they do in Solid Minerals Ministry such that even on the Minister’s desk here, he can see all the licenses they have issued and be able to monitor whenever there is intrusion into a mining area or someone is mining illegally. All these, he will be able to decipher from his desk. That is part of the discussion we have held and how to actually be in consonance with the Renewed Hope agenda”, the minister said.
