Metal exporters canvass inclusive consultation on solid minerals’ blueprint

The Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to engage industry operators with visible records of active operations in fashioning a practicable and realistic blueprint for the industry.

The association also commended Fayemi Kayode, Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals development, for his vision to develop a multi-level developmental blueprint for the Nigerian solid minerals industry and urged him to include industry operators in the process of determining the future of the industry.

Fayemi recently inaugurated a 17-man committee to develop a 24 month short-term plan, 10-year mid-term plan and 25-year long term plan for the solid minerals industry.  The committee, which is chaired by Ibrahim Garba, a professor, is co-chaired by Siyan Malomo, another professor.

Seun Olatunji, president, Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, said while the minister has a good knowledge of a number of challenges affecting the rapid growth of the solid minerals sector, the industry consultation and engagement should be broadened to include key stakeholders like metal exporters.

“The Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria has not been invited to any of the engagement talks by the Ministry,” Olatunji, who is also the managing director of S.B. Olatunji Global Nigeria Ltd, said.

“Yet, we, metal exporters, put several Nigerian-origin solid minerals on the foreign markets map including lead ore, zinc ore, copper ore, beryl ore, manganese ore, cassiterite, zircon sand, with verifiable, valid NXP forms opened in compliance with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policies,” Olatunji said.

He noted that there is a need for the inclusion of those already achieving feat in the sector by generating export proceeds in order to achieve quick gains, pointing out that it would be counterproductive to neglect those with end-to-end knowledge on the conversion of the available base metals, minor metals and others into the much desired foreign exchange for the Nigerian economy as it stands today.

“Opportunity to contribute their quotas should be made accessible to those who have the practical know-how in selling Nigeria’s metallic minerals in exchange for forex. Let’s not shove aside these critical stakeholders, who account for over 80 per cent of the solid minerals export proceeds into the CBN coffers and by extension the commercial deposit banks,” Olatunji said.

He pointed out that the metallic solid mineral exporters actually finance directly the artisanal miners spread across the geopolitical zones of the country as the deposit money banks will not finance any artisanal miners directly.

“It is known for a fact that the export proceeds data captured by CBN from sales of mostly metallic solid minerals of Nigerian origin were achieved as a result of the activities of the various exporters in conjunction with the artisanal miners cutting across the various mineralised states in Nigeria,” Olatunji said.

 

ODINAKA ANUDU