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FG Inaugurates Committee On Salt And Kaolin Production
Joel Ajayi
In line with it’s Renewed Hope Agenda to enhance local capacity for industrialisation and promote value addition in the solid minerals sector, the Federal Government has inagurated a 10- man Committee to strengthen the mechanism for full scale and industrial production of Salt and Kaolin in the country.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony held on Wednesday at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Solid Minerals Development/ Steel Development, Dr Mary Ogbe stated that the initiative to explore and exploit Salt and Kaolin aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu led administration to increase domestic use, capacity for export and boost employment opportunities.
Dr Ogbe said: ”In order to change the narrative and kick start the development of our nation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, with his Renewed Hope Agenda has challenged us to believe in our country and develop it as we do not have another country.
”It is this consideration that is behind the strong desire of the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake to develop the exploration exploitation and processing of salt and Kaolin in Nigeria for Nigeria’s use and subsequent export. This will provide jobs for Nigerians, conserve foreign exchange and boost our economy.”
The Permanent Secretary charged the 10- man Committee with the following terms of reference:
a. Determine the extent of deposits and locations of brine and rock salt and Kaolin in Nigeria.
b. Determine the number and viability of licenses issued for the exploration and exploitation of these minerals.
c. Determine the cost of exploration of those sites to ascertain the quantum of the existence of brine, rock salts and Kaolin ( if this has not been determined before).
d.Propose the way forward to actualizing the building of Salt and Kaolin Processing plants in Nigeria with a given time frame.
e. Come up with any other.
recommendation that will assist the Government in taking proactive measures to develop the sector.
Elaborating further, Dr Ogbe gave a timeline, on or before 30 November 2023 to the Committee for submission of its report in view of the urgency of the assignment.
Prof. Zachaeus Opafunsho, the Director- General/CEO of Council for Mining Engineers and Geoscientists of Nigeria will serve as Chairman of the Committe, while Mrs. Salamatu Umar, Director Special Duties Department in the Ministry is the Secretary.
Featured
NAPTIP Restates Commitment To Fighting Human Trafficking
Joel Ajayi
… decries corruption in law enforcement, weak legislation
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, has pledged the agency’s commitment to fight human trafficking.
Waziri-Azi gave the assurance during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, in Abuja.
The commitment by NAPTIP follows an investigative report by Human Angle Media exposing how many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt are inhumanely treated and exploited by their sponsors.
Represented by the agency’s Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, decried the rising number of Nigerians who are victims of trafficking, pledging that “NAPTIP is fighting on all sides to curb human trafficking.”
Akomolafe disclosed that the agency is aware of the report of Nigerians trafficked to Egypt and has already commenced interventions to rescue them while warning citizens to be wary of “offers that are too good to be true.”
She identified weak legislation, lengthy judicial processes, and corrupt law enforcement officials as factors aiding and abetting trafficking in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world.
“Corruption is endemic and cuts across other countries of the world, and that’s why trafficking is easily perpetrated in Nigeria and around the globe. You find law enforcement officials aiding and abetting traffickers. Some of them know these traffickers from their operations either at the entry or exit point. They give them something or become too familiar with them.
“Apart from the bribery aspect, we also have officials turning a blind eye to trafficking activities, and that’s why for us at the agency (NAPTIP), we are not resting.”
According to her, the agency, from inception, secured 672 convictions, 67 in 2023, and 35 persons so far this year (2024). She added that “NAPTIP is winning the war against trafficking but still wants stiffer punishment for traffickers and the support of the judiciary in hastening cases.
“weak legislation is aiding trafficking. That’s why the agency continues pushing for amendments. Currently, NAPTIP is pushing for stiffer punishment against traffickers that will lead to confiscation of their monies and property.
“NAPTIP Director-General (Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi) is fighting on all sides against human trafficking.
“Where law enforcement officials are found complicit, NAPTIP Director-General does not take it lightly; she doesn’t compromise her anti-corruption stance even when a staff is involved,” Akomolafe stated.
According to the Editor of Southern Operations, Human Angle Media, Kabir Adejumo, many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt engage in forced labour. They are also living in fear as authorities go after illegal immigrants.
Adejumo said victims interviewed during the investigation are willing and interested in returning home, but their sponsors refuse to release their travel passports and threaten to implicate them.
He also revealed that the NAPTIP and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) are aware of the plight of Nigerians trafficked in Egypt and have currently rescued one person.
On her part, the Programme Manager of the Human Angle Foundation, Angela Umoro-David, expressed satisfaction at NAPTIP’s response to trafficking cases while urging the agency to stay on course with their mandate.
Umoro-David called on Nigerians to use a Freedom of Information platform (foi.humananglemedia.com) to help citizens navigate requests for public records from different government parastatals and agencies.
She stressed that the platform “is a website where people can submit their FOI requests to us (Human Angle), and we’ll submit it on their behalf to the particular agency. So we act as middlemen, connecting these government parastatals to the citizens”.
Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.
The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation
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