By Naomi Sharang
Prof. Muhammed Ladan, the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), has called on the Federal Government to put in place, a comprehensive mining policy framework for diversification of Nigeria’s economy.
He made the call at the 7th Inaugural Lecture organised by the institute for the Inaugural Lecturer, Prof. Peter Akper and held in Abuja.
The theme of the lecture is “Toward Realising the Potentials of the Mining Sector: Policy, Legal and Institutional Reformation Imperatives for Nigeria.”
Ladan who was also the chairman of the occasion, said that there were challenges bedeviling the sector.
He said with the right policy framework in place, the sector would add to the economic fortunes of the country.
He said that the challenges included poor funding while also calling on government to give the sector the needed support to attract investors.
Ladan said that Nigeria has large deposits of mineral resources including cobalt and gold but in the last three decades, successive administrations, unfortunately, have not invested enough for exploration.
“Government must partake in the mining industry. It cannot leave it to the private sector. It must create an enabling environment for the private sector to come in and invest.
“One of the key issues that the private sector and foreign investors are looking for is whether you have a hard infrastructure facility on ground for them to come and invest.
“For investors, both domestic and foreign investors, we must attract them into the mining sector aggressively to diversify our economy.
“We must also ensure that we provide them with a tax incentive regime,” he said.
Ladan attested to Akper’s maturity in the development of Nigerian law and to his commitment to duty.
The Inaugural Lecturer, Prof. Peter Akper said that Nigeria was reputed to be endowed with 44 different mineral resources in no fewer than 450 locations in virtually all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“In spite of these resources, Nigeria is not reckoned as a mining jurisdiction but rather as an oil and gas country.”
Akper, however, said that Nigeria’s mineral resources harbour tremendous potential for the economic growth of the country.
“These vast mineral occurrences are envisioned as key in the efforts to diversify the economy, hence the renewed focus to on the mining sector.”
While advocating for a comprehensive mining policy, Akper said such a policy when in place, would clearly provide guiding principles and directions for the development of the sector.(NAN)
