In a significant development, the Ministry of Defence will collaborate with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to enhance security in mining fields across the country, to facilitate the mining sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product and increase government revenue.
During a courtesy visit, the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru and the Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle assured newsmen of their commitment to securing mining areas.
Badaru stated, “The purpose of the visit by the two of us is to discuss how we can provide security in the mining areas. We are working to provide security on the farms as well as security in the mining sector to make the country earn the much-needed foreign currency. The mining sector is critical to help rejuvenate the economy”.
Regarding the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development’s initiative to create a mining police force, the minister of defence commended the concept, ensuring it would receive the necessary support from the military. The ministry’s head of press and public relations, Alaba Balogun explained, “We have to clear the territory as the military to ensure safety. When the mining police come, they can take it up from there and continue to provide security in those mining areas.”
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake emphasised the importance of securing the mineral sector for both local and foreign investors. He highlighted the need for a secure and unrestricted atmosphere for operations to maximise benefits from the country’s mineral resources.
Alake stated, “The main essence is to secure our minerals sector. I have been saying, even to foreign and local investors, that we need to secure our mineral sector so that operators, both local and foreign, can have a free and unfettered atmosphere to operate. This way, we can derive maximum benefits from these God-given resources. I am working in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence and inter-military agencies are involved in all the security architecture that we are reinvigorating”.
