13 April 2013, Abuja – The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Mohammed Sada, said that the Ajaokuta Steel Company would soon resume production.
The minister made this known at the Ministerial Briefing of members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, National Working Committee, NWC, on the ministry`s activities in Abuja On Thursday.
The minister, who said he met nothing on ground when he assumed office, said that the ministry generated N60 billion as revenue through mining activities.
He said that 34 mineral types existed in different locations in the country, adding that there was no local government in the country that did not have mineral deposit.
Sada further said that Nigeria had coal estimate reserves of over 2.7 billion, Iron Ore 10 billion, limestone 3 trillion tonnes and one million ounces of gold.
The minister, however, said that funding was a constraint to the ministry, adding that the ministry got only N1.6 billion out of the N2.16 billion budgeted for it in 2012.
He also said that inadequate manpower, lack of adequate mining special purpose surveillance equipment for field work and revenue collection and monitoring were other challenges facing the sector.
Other challenges, he said, were illegal mining activities; smuggling of minerals and lack of legal and regulatory framework for the steel sector.
Earlier, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, commended the minister for tailoring the ministry`s programmes in line with Federal Government`s transformation agenda.
The idea, according to him, is to enlighten the party leadership and Nigerians generally, on the activities of the various ministries.
Tukur earlier said that the initiative would enable the party and the Federal Government to consolidate on recorded achievement as well as to proffer ways forward were necessary.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ministerial briefing, an initiative of the PDP NWC, was to enable ministers give account of their stewardship to the party`s leadership.
*NAN
