FG proposes N2.3trn to boost mining, other sectors

In view of Post COVID-19 rescue operations, the Federal Government has proposed N2.3trn to boost mining and other sectors of the national economy.

This was made known by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite in an interactive session with news reporters on the post COVID-19 plans of the Federal government for the solid mineral sector.

He revealed that the ministry would get N6 billion from the total sum while adding that they had feasible plans before COVID-19 struck.

He said that just like other sectors of the economy, the solid mineral sector was greatly affected by the pandemic.

The minister disclosed that efforts are being made by the government to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.

“Now, the government needs to come up with a response because the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected our sector, as a lot of miners could not go to work for obvious reasons.

The consequence of this is that the output is zero and a lot of miners had been impoverished, this, however, is not peculiar to the sector, because it goes all round.

What the President Mohammadu Buhari-led administration has decided to do is to face this head-on, and that is why we have come up with post COVID-19 rescue operations.

In this, the government proposes to spend N2.3 trillion, this is what the government intends to inject into the economy to counter the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Mr Adegbite said that the money had been allocated to various sectors of the economy, including the solid mineral sector.

“A large chunk of the money had been allotted to the sector to help counter the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We intend to spend this fund and some other funds that are available to us to improve artisanal mining in the country and deepen our explorative projects,” Mr Adegbite said.