21 April 2014, Lagos – Participants at a one-day stakeholder’s workshop on gemstone have lamented the poor exploration and utilisation of local raw materials in the country, saying Nigeria loses more money to mineral theft than oil and gas.
They noted that the capacity utilisation of many industries in Nigeria was hampered by lack of raw materials and other required inputs.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gems and Minerals Nigeria Limited, Rev. Zephaniah Ndaja, said Nigeria loses more money to stealing of solid minerals like gemstone than oil and gas theft, due to lack of ignorance of the industry.
He called on governments to give the same priority to the solid minerals sector as that of oil and gas by putting mechanism in place to protect the nation’s gem mineral reserves against abuse and waste.
– Vanguard
