Presideny Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the resignation of Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the minister of Mines and Steel Development.
Fayemi, who spoke yesterday at a valedictory media briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital, said the President accepted his resignation to enable him pursue his governorship ambition.
According to him, he is leaving office with a deep sense of pride about his contributions to the landmark achievements he and his team achieved in the sector and is transitioning out with his head held high.
Fayemi also said his overall goal was to ensure that the sector contributes optimally to the building of a strong and virile economy that supports human development goals.
Revealing his scorecard, the former minister said he began with developing a roadmap for the ministry, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on August 31, 2016.
He added: “The ministry sought for and obtained approval for N30 billion (approximately $100 million) intervention fund from the Federal Government, partly to provide cheap loans and grants to industry participants as well as for directly investing in foundation infrastructure.
“We also secured support from the World Bank for the funding of the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MSSED or MinDiver) programme, a critical component to provide technical assistance for the restructuring and operationalisation of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, which would make finance available to ASM operators through micro-finance and leasing institutions.
“Similarly, we have reached an advanced stage in assembling a $600 million investment fund for the sector, working with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and other financial institutions.”
He added: “We have facilitated payment and the release of the results of the aeromagnetic survey of the whole country carried out since 2006, but which had not been released due to non-payment.
“Our Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) has undertaken additional ground investigations nationwide to upgrade our National Minerals Database and to further ascertain the assays of our mineral assets to the level that can easily attract financial investments and assure operators of the scope of operations required for further exploration and/or mining.
“The NGSA has also signed and operationalised memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and Technical Cooperation Agreements with the China Geological Surveys, Shandong Mineral Exploration Agency and the National Office Hydrocarbons and Mines ‘ONHYM’ of Morocco.
“The collaborations are intended to leverage on the expertise and state-of-the-art technologies of these organisations in assisting Nigeria to generate investor-friendly geoscience data.
“The ministry has initiated engagements with SGS, a world-renowned material testing company, to strengthen the capacity of NGSA Laboratory Facilities in Kaduna towards achieving ISO 17025 accreditation within the shortest possible period.”
