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Governors are tired and frustrated, says Fayemi on rising insecurity

Published

6 years ago

December 23, 2020

The Governor of Ekiti State Dr. Kayode Fayemi has revealed that the governors are tired and frustrated with the issues of banditry and kidnapping currently facing the country.

Fayemi, who is also the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), spoke on Tuesday when he led three governors on a solidarity visit to Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, over the abduction of students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina.

The students were released after six days in captivity.

He was accompanied by Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto; Atiku Bagudu, governor of Kebbi and Badaru Abubakar, governor of Jigawa.

Ekiti state governor was quoted to have said governors need to address the issues of banditry, kidnapping, and criminality, including the causes of these problems.

“For us, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), we believe that we not only have to be on top of banditry, kidnapping and criminality generally, but we also have to be on top of the causes of these problems,” he said.

“Social inequality and poverty are key issues and we need to ensure that our governments, our states pry away our young people from the merchants of death who are using them as cannon fodder for this criminal brigandage.

“We can only do that through providing them with alternative means of livelihood and support system that will not entice them to these elements that are endangering the whole of our country… We are all tired, we are all frustrated that these issues are happening.”

Fayemi said governors must work with President Muhammadu Buhari to put an end to banditry, kidnapping, and other problems, instead of engaging in repeated talking.

“And this is something that we are committed to as governors, in working with Mr. President, so that we don’t keep on talking about something over and over again,” he said.

“But we know that with concerted efforts on our part as governors and the commitment of the Federal Government, the professional conduct of our security services and our social investment programme intensified, we shall see the end of this criminality, brigandage in our states. “

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

Published

8 hours 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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