And now, he must walk the walk.
Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, says he has two mandates from President Muhamamdu Buhari; to put an end to illegal mining and generate more revenue from the ministry.
Fayemi, a former governor of Ekiti state, said with 44 key minerals in about 350 location in all the states of the federation, Nigeria had the potential to be a global force in the sector.
He lamented the abandonment of the solid minerals sector by previous administrations and also expressed his readiness to tackle head-on all challenges in fulfilling his mandate.
Fayemi shared his plans for the ministry with journalists, while speaking at the weekend, in his hometown, Isan Ekiti in Oye LGA of Ekiti State.
“President Buhari came into government with strong integrity. And we won’t allow the integrity quotient to reduce. So, whoever perpetrates illegality in the sector must start packing his load.
“We are ready to tackle the cartels in the sector and those who think they can continue will face the maximum wrath of the law.
“If you glean through what President Buhari said when he came into power, every comment is punctuated with preference for solid minerals and agriculture as areas of interest in his efforts to diversify the economy.
So, Mr. President has put me in his area of interest and I thank him for reposing confidence in me”.
“Though, I may not be an expert in mineral resources management, but having superintended over every sector as a governor, I think I have the experience.
“The task is not even about expertise, but service. I should be able to work with these experts to bring about the needed change in the sector.
“Nigeria used to be a centre of excellence in solid minerals, particularly in Tin and Coal since 1903, that was before the First World War, when petrol came, we abandoned production of these two minerals. But we have come to realise our mistake.
“We have coal in Enugu, diamond in Nasarawa, tin and columbite in Plateau and many other states. There is no state without a mineral. So, we have a lot of potential to tap and this we shall achieve.”
