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FG reaffirms commitment to improve security situation in Nigeria

Published

5 years ago

November 10, 2021

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its determination and commitment to improve the security of all citizens in the country with a view to reducing the current security challenges bedeviling the nation.

The Director of Press, Ministry of Interior, Mrs Blessing Lere-Adams, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to her, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made the disclosure at the inauguration of the committee to study the Recommendations and Implementation Strategies on Strengthening Internal Security Framework and Community Policing in Nigeria.

Aregbesola noted the journey to the event began with the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 40,2018 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), on Strengthening Internal Security Framework and Community Policing in Nigeria.

According to him, consequently, the committee observed that the absence of a National Security Policy and Strategy document and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework on internal security has negatively affected the operations of the internal security agencies in the country.

He said that this therefore, necessitated the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to approve an Inter-Ministerial Committee with all relevant stakeholders on Internal Security to be put in place.

The minister noted further that one of the nine priority areas of the present administration was to improve governance and provide security for all citizens.

“Therefore, it calls for all seriousness to provide the needed apparatus and security architecture to fight insecurity in the country,” he said.

The committee inaugurated has seven sub-Committees and their Terms of Reference (TOR).

These seven sub- committees include the Committee to develop internal security policy and strategy with Aregbesola as Chairman.

Also included is committee to Develop Mechanism for effective Synergy and Coordination among internal security agencies and Adopt Community Policing as a National Strategy with the Police Affairs Minister as Chairman.

They also included committee to develop comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for internal security operatives with the Permanent Secretary of Interior as Chairman.

Also included is committee on the Application of Appropriate Science , Technology and Innovation for Strengthening internal security management, including Forensic Satellite Imagery, Drones, CCTVs with the representative of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology Innovation as Chairman.

Others are committee on the Establishment of Internal Service Trust Fund with Permanent Secretary Ministry of Police Affairs as Chairman.

Committee on the Appropriate Devolution of Control of Resources along the chains of Command of Internal Security Agency with the Director-General, National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as Chairman.

Among them is also committee to Innovate Funding Mechanism for upgrading Equipment Holdings of Internal Security agencies and for providing needed Equipment for Security agencies with I-G, as Chairman.

“I do not need to reiterate the seriousness of this assignment, providing security for lives and property of the citizens is the primary responsibility of Government.

“This is a mission on which we cannot afford to fail.

“Three things are clear in your mandates, the first is, there must be a new and effective strategy thinking that should be at least two steps ahead of these current challenges.

“Especially, the recent incidences at the correctional facilities which are no longer internal insurrection by inmates but mass armed invasion from outside,” he said.

According to him, new strategy therefore, must emerge to tackle these new challenges.

“Secondly, is the issue of galvanising resources, human, financial and technology .The third concern is community policing.

“The people are the primary agents in their security, nevertheless , they must be socialised and well organised along that line-with the people in the first line of Defence.

“Therefore, if people are organised for their own security, it makes the work of security agencies easier,” he said.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, expressed his appreciation to the minister and the Executive Course (SEC) 40,2018 of NIPSS, for the report and documents on Monitoring and Evaluation Framework on Internal Security.

This, he noted, prompted the President to approve the Inter-Ministerial Committee.

Also, the Director, Planning Research and Statistics, Mr Ayuba Kabir, thanked all members that attended the inauguration and appreciated the Minister and the Permanent Secretary for ensuring a successful inauguration

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

Published

4 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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