The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake has stressed the need for inter-agency collaboration to achieve the current administration’s objective of projecting mining sector reforms towards making solid minerals a major contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
Alake made this known while receiving the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in his office on Thursday in Abuja.
According to a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Segun Tomori, the minister recalled the role of his information counterpart in the struggle for the enthronement of the current administration, stating that he was a formidable ally in conceptualising media and communications strategies during and after the campaigns.
The statement quoted the minister as saying, “We have come a long way, and I am very happy that he is the one piloting the information apparatus of this government. I personally have full confidence in his ability and capacity to achieve the stated objectives of the government. So, it is an honour for me today to welcome him to this critical metals’ ministry – an epithet he gave to the ministry.”
In his remarks, the information minister expressed satisfaction with the visibility brought to the mining sector by Alake, asserting that since his assumption of office, there has been a renewed interest in the sector.
“I have come to respect Alake’s intellect, focus, determination, and dexterity. He is willing to pitch for things that appear impossible, and you can see that in the way he has handled the Ministry of Solid Minerals. This ministry has been there. It is not a new ministry. It is one of the oldest ministries around, but not many people know about it. “Since he came here, he has managed to put solid minerals on the front burner to the extent that people are becoming extremely envious of this ministry because of the work he has done. It is not a mistake that the President brought him here. He knows he can turn things around,” Idris affirmed.
The information minister promised to partner with the solid minerals ministry to project ongoing reforms and draw the attention of Nigerians to what he described as a very critical sector.
He stressed that achieving President Bola Tinubu’s vision of diversifying the economy through a revamped mining sector remains a unifying factor that binds both ministries together.
