Buhari receives briefings from three ministers

…..Fayemi briefs Buhari on $150m World Bank mining loan.

…Dalung updates President on federation elections.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday received briefings from three ministers on the different activities of their ministries andmilestones covered.

This is the first time in the last three weeks that the President is receiving briefings from more than a minister in a day as he is said to be taking it easy because of his health. Since his return, the President has mostly received briefings from security chiefs, ministers amongst others.

First was the Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Kayode Fayemi, who formally informed the President of the $150m loan which was approved by the World Bank for the mining sector.

Briefing journalists after his meeting with the President, Fayemi said the loan will spent on areas such as geological data and the organisation of the informal sector.

“Geological data is very important to us, and part of this money is going to assist with geological data.

“It is also going to contribute to our organising the informal sector into a formal sector providing some access to funding and helping them with technological equipment for the artisanal miners.

“There are many miners that have done extensive exploration but to move to production has been a challenge. So, for those who are crossing over from exploration to exploitation and to actual mining, we believe that giving them some assistance would help boost the industry, particularly the small and medium scale players in the industry,” he explained further.

On the concerns over the nation’s increasing foreign debt profile, the minister said the concerns would have been valid if the nation was borrowing to pay salaries or to attend to recurrent expenditure. He said it was more important that the borrowing was done to develop a sector that has the potential for exponential growth and multiplier effect on other sectors particularly industrialisation.

He described the loan as attractive adding that it was coming with a 1% interest rate and 30 years moratorium.

The minister who said he briefed the President on other developments in the ministry also told journalists that he also gave the President an update of the ministry’s efforts at curtailing the activities of illegal miners.

“I have come to brief the President about what is going on in the mining sector and to particularly inform him of the major breakthrough we had on Friday with the World Bank approving the $150m request that we made to them during the meeting in Washington.

“I also briefed him on the activities of illegal miners and the work we are doing with regards to that; my tour around the country and the gradual improvements we are beginning to see in the sector particularly in relation to our growth.

“It is a sector that seems to have defied recession. According to the Bureau of Statistics, it is growing while other sectors may be experiencing challenges.

“That is not to say that we have reached Eldorado. It is a journey and we are beginning to see concrete developments and the President as you know also approved an intervention fund for this sector, the first of its kind in the history of the mining sector. We also discussed that.”

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani, also met with the President and briefed him on Issues of concerns in the region and progress of works in his ministry.

He said all one of the issues he raised with the President was the fact that Nigerians were concerned that the East-West Road had not been completed yet.

“It is not true that the ministry has not commissioned projects. We have commissioned one and about four others are ready for commissioning. Some health centres will soon be ready and some classroom blocks are being painted now and equipment are ready,” he added.

The Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung also briefed the President on the progress recorded so far in the ministry’s efforts to reposition the sports sector as well as the
forthcoming national federation elections with the guidelines already approved by the stakeholder forum.

 

ELIZABETH ARCHIBONG