FG told to declare state of emergency in mining sector

The Federal Government has been urged to declare a state of emergency in the mining sector to help boost revenue from non-oil enterprises.

The chairman of NASAMAN Mining Company Limited, an indigenous mining firm, Prince Mamman Ali has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare an emergency in the nation’s mining sector as a practical demonstration of its seriousness to revitalize the non-oil sector and to improve the revenue base of the economy.

A statement signed by the Communication Assistant, Mr. Kelvin Gods’will Musa, said Prince Mamman Ali made this in Abuja recently when he led his management team to receive an award given to the company by the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC).

Ali pointed out that a presidential declaration of an emergency in the sector will go a long way in boosting the chances of success of the President’s current economic diplomacy.

According to him, “for over 15 years now, we have been at the forefront of advocacy for a major shift from a mono-product economy to a multi-product economy where fresh focus should be given to the mining sector. It is particularly imperative now that since crude oil sales have continued to tumble, we have to explore the non-oil sector where mining holds the ace for the country.”

Mamman Ali noted that, “the mining sector can sufficiently create over five million jobs, raise government’s revenue base significantly, accelerate economic diversification, attract foreign direct investment and contribute to the rapid social, economic and institutional development of the mining communities across the country.”