Newly-inaugurated minister of solid minerals, Dele Alake, says he took up the role as a trusted hand for President Bola Tinubu and asked the president for the ministry.
Mr Alake said the president needed someone he could trust for a ministry that is “key to the administration.”
“The ministry is key to the administration and the president wanted someone that he trusts and believes will deliver effectively,” he said while meeting staff of the ministry after his inauguration on Monday.
“So, the position was one that I specifically asked Mr president to give me, and he obliged.”
The comments could provide an insight into how the administration views the minerals sector that has underperformed for decades. It could also raise questions about the competence to turn it around.
Despite its immense potential, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector has struggled to deliver expected benefits for many years, hampered by challenges like inadequate infrastructure, regulatory issues, and lack of investment.
This underperformance has hindered the country’s ability to harness its rich mineral resources for economic growth and development. Nigeria is rich in gold, lithium and several rare earth metals.
New administrations typically talk up their value for the sector but leave with relatively little achievement.
Shape in, or you ship out
Mr Alake urged staff of the ministry to support the administration’s plans to reset the industry.
He warned members of staff against “civil service bottlenecks.”
“I understand how you civil servants operate, I won’t tolerate any bottlenecks that will hinder my job, so any files that gets to you must be attended to in an hour,” he said, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
“We won’t allow bottlenecks to stifle our set goals, it’s either you shape in, or you ship out.
“If you can really sit down to listen, you will understand that hydrocarbon is fading out and the attention of the world is shifting to solid minerals. So, we must get it right.
“I understand what results are, having served under the current president as commissioner, and we are here to achieve results. I believe we can do it with all hands on deck,” he said.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, said it was time to move the country up to the G-20 industrialised nations.
Mr Audu said the Ajaokuta Steel would soon commence production.
“The mandate of Mr president is to ensure that we get it right in the steel sector. As a young ministry, we will work toward the production of steel in the country in no distant time.
“We are set to kick start the Ajaokuta steel machine and Nigeria cannot afford to fail in steel production,” he said.
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