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Bello Inspects GOSA Dumpsite, Promises To Fix Road Before Raining Period.

Published

7 years ago

March 7, 2020

Joel Ajayi

The FCT Administration will ensure that all roads leading into and within the major Gosa dumpsite are rehabilitated before the advent of the raining season so that waste disposal trucks are not hindered from the proper disposal of refuse during the wet season.

FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello stated this when he inspected the 90.8 hectare Gosa dumpsite in the company of senior management officers of the FCTA.

According to the Minister, over 1000 tons of waste from the city are deposited in the dumpsite every day and the FCTA intends to ensure that the process went on as smoothly as possible.

In his words, “we want to make sure that the relevant roads into the dumpsite are rehabilitated and made stronger, so that at least for the six or seven months when the soil will be very weak and waterlogged, our vehicles bringing in solid waste from the city will be able to have access and also exit without too much hindrance”.

Malam Bello added that the FCTA will continue to improve on existing infrastructure, maintain facilities and areas where it is absolutely necessary, provide complementary infrastructure.

Speaking at the site, Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Malam Baba Shehu Lawan, said the access road to the dumpsite had been a challenge to the Board over the years as the trucks carrying tons of solid waste get stuck in the mud, especially during the raining season.

He said: “The trucks that are conveying the waste, they are carrying at the range of 18 tons to 30 tons each depending on the capacity of those trucks. During the rainy season, it’s really a herculean task for these trucks to ply and dispatch their waste.

“This visit is so that the Minister and relevant management staff can see the damage firsthand and to see that these roads are fixed within the next 10 weeks when the rain is expected to be in full swing”.

Malam Lawan who explained the economic value of waste management to the FCT, and urged genuine private investor to take advantage of the business opportunities therein and invest in the waste management sector especially in the waste to energy aspect.

On the visit with the Minister were the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa, the Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Umar Gambo Jibrin, the Director of Engineering Services of the FCDA, Engr Shehu Hadi Ahmed and the Director, AEPB, Malam Baba Shehu Lawan.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

3 days ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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