The Minister of Solid Mineral, Mr Dele Alake, on Tuesday, alleged that some ‘powerful’ Nigerians involved in illegal mining are sponsoring banditry and terrorism in the country.

He stated this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals for the ministry’s 2024 budget defence in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Alake also alleged that foreigners also engage in illegal mining in the country. He called on the Federal Government to pay close attention to the mining sector which would take in trillions for the country annually.

“Nigerians are those powerful people behind them; we are identifying them with both kinetic and non-kinetic means. We have encouraged those petty illegal miners to form cooperatives,” he said.

He said the most disturbing aspect was that most of the foreigners engaged in illegal mining in the country had no proper immigration.

He said for mining to generate the requisite revenue, there was a need to have a formal structure that the multinational could deal with, just like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

The minister, however, said that the approach of the ministry under his leadership would be different from NNPCL, adding that the structure being proposed for Nigeria Mining Cooperation would be primarily private sector-driven.

He added that “Nigeria will also have its equity, adding that this would mean that no government after could destabilize the structure”.

He said the conservative amount of minerals deposited in the country is over 700 billion dollars, adding that in Nigeria, we had not even accessed a quarter of what i t has.

Alake urged the chairman of the committee to support the process, adding that this would help change mining in the country.

He also said that the host communities where mining activities take place across the country would be engaged to forestall the breakdown of laws and orders.

He pleaded with the committee to consider the amount budgeted for the ministry in the 2024 budget proposal.

“If we are given that amount of money, I can tell you that what the ministry will contribute will outweigh other ministries, including what we are deriving from oil.

END.