₦airaland Forum

Fayemi’s day of 51 solid cheers
By Olayinka Oyebode


The recent widely reported declaration by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, that states could exploit mineral resources in their domains with the attendant positive response from states has, no doubt, opened another chapter in the federal government-states relationship. In the last one month, I have stumbled on a few group discussions on the declaration, which many see as a welcome development in the quest by the states to shore up their revenue profiles in the face of a dwindling oil price.

In one of such discussions, the emphasis was on the proviso which the minister added to the declaration: that such mining activities should be done in line with the laid down laws. “It has to be done within the provision of the law. Once you do it within the law, the government will at least get royalties from you (states), get taxes paid legitimately, have people employed in this area. This achieve our objectives of alternative revenue generation for the country and job creation for our people”, Dr Fayemi was quoted.

The development, seen by many as novel, would no doubt provide the needed lift for many of the states when it is eventually firmed up. Aside the states, many stakeholders are also excited by the plan which will see states participating in mining through partnership and joint ventures.

Whereas the new position has the backings of the law as noted by Dr Fayemi, what observers however find a bit curious is why it was never enunciated by previous regimes.

And that is vintage Fayemi. He embraces assignments with every sense of responsibility and pursues set goals with a huge dose of vigour, spiced with youthful gusto. To him the rule of law is paramount, just as social justice is an essential ingredient for socio-political and economic development/empowerment. He believes every policy must be a product of thorough process with the concomitant advantage for the majority. To him, every assignment must be discharged with precision and must come with its added value to national development and must of necessity bring succour to the people.

Whereas the constitution gives the federal government exclusive right to explore minerals. But, as an innovator, Fayemi knows that it would be difficult for the federal government to do that successfully without collaboration with the states. Hence the need to put in place a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Other plans being put in place by Fayemi to revolutionalise the solid minerals sector include upgrading the Mining Cadastre Office and the Mines Inspectorate Directorate; establishment of Mines Police; automation of the mining rights/titles; institutional support to artisanal and small scale miners for the purpose of integrating them into the formal economy. Others include building of bankable geosciences data; enforcement of the “use it or lose it” licence provision of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 ; external audit of revenue receipts as well as guaranteeing the integrity of mining licence.

He believes that the huge investments that will boost the fortunes of the sector would come when the right foundation is laid and investors confidence are restored.

For Fayemi, the desire to always think outside the box in order to provide solution and achieve set goals have remained the hallmark of his public service engagements.

In December 2015, clearly one year and two months after he had left office as governor of Ekiti State, the administration he led was recognised as one with the most transparent budget model among the 36 states in the country.

The Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) organisers of the award, had rated Ekiti State budget under him as being the one with the most transparent process. The survey was done with data collected in 2014. In the ‘Transparency Index 2015’, of the survey, Ekiti scored 79 – the highest score on the index ahead of Cross Rivers...

Akerry na their governor, Fayemi remain. My own Governor forever till sanity is restored in the state.

"The bonelessness of the penis does not render it helpless in times of battle." Sam Loco in Boneless Penis


Movie na movie

Please tune in to Channels TV tonight at 8pm (Politics Today) for an exclusive interview on how Ekiti Election was rigged with Seun Okinbaloye .  Don't miss it.

Hmmm

God of mercy

How We Rigged Fayose Into Office – Ekiti PDP Secretary 


Secretary of the Ekiti state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Temitope Aluko on Sunday opened a can of worms as he gave an insider account of how the military was used to rig the 2014 Ekiti State governor election that Ayo Fayose won under PDP.

Aluko, who was the Chief Returning Officer and signed the results for the election, also disclosed how former President Goodluck Jonathan, gave Fayose $37 million cash to prosecute the governorship election.

The embattled Secretary of the Ekiti state chapter of PDP, made the disclosure in Abuja, stressed that he was forced to come forward with the revelations because Fayose betrayed him and derailed from the original plan they had for the development of the state.

Aluko had also testified in camera before the military panel that investigated the role of the military in the Ekiti election.

According to Aluko, who said he was part Fayose’s inner cycle during the election, alleged that Jonathan initially gave the incumbent Ekiti governor a first tranche of $2 million in March 2014 for the primary election. 

He noted that this cash was collected at the NNPC headquarters in Abuja and was taken to Fayose’s private house, in Abuja before it was moved to Ekiti.

“Immediately after the primary election, we collected. another $35 million from Jonathan on June 17, 2014. The money was brought to us by the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

“We all assembled at the front office of Spotless Hotel, Ado Ekiti, owned by Fayose. Thereafter, the cash was taken to a Bureau De Change in Onitsha where it was converted to N4.7 billion”, Aluko added.

Aluko, further alleged that Fayose received about N3 billion cash from Sen. Buruji Kashamu in 2013 for revive the PDP in Ekiti State.

The Ekiti PDP scribe, also gave account on how the military was used to win the election.

Aluko said “the former President agreed with Fayose and summoned a security meeting at the Presidential Villa for the purpose of the election. 

“Those at the meeting were the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh; then Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Kenneth Minimmah; and former National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.

“Others included Fayose, Senator Iyiola Omisore, then Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan and Obanikoro.

“At that meeting, the former President made it clear to the ex Chief of Defence Staff that Fayose would stand for him (as Commander-In-Chief) in terms of providing security for the election”.

Aluko alleged that Fayose, relying on Jonathan’s directive, approached the former Commander of the Army Brigade in Akure, Brig. Gen. Dikko to take charge of the election for the PDP, who refused to cooperate and was replaced after a petition was filed against him.

“But Gen. Dikko did not give us audience. He stated bluntly that he would not be available for such operation. So Fayose sponsored a petition against him which led to his replacement with Brig. Gen. Aliyu Momoh who was amenable to our plans”.

Aluko alleged that a total of 64 PDP stalwarts were picked, who had knowledge of their local governors were picked to help with information on opposition members. 

“They gave detailed information regarding names and locations of opposition members in all the local governments, the various routes, areas of strength and weaknesses of the PDP in the 16 local governments.

“Today, most of these 64 hatchet men are members of the Senate, House of Representatives, state House of Assembly, commissioners, local government chairmen, special advisers and the rest”, Aluko said.

He continued, “We went into the election with 1040 recognised soldiers and another batch of 400 unrecognised soldiers brought from Enugu by Sen. Andy Uba.

“In addition, we raised 44 special strike teams brought in Toyota Hilux buses from Abuja and Onistah. We made special stickers for the vehicles that conveyed members



www.leadership.ng/news/497043/rigged-fayose-office-ekiti-pdp-secretary




Cc lalasticlala, ishilove

.

Hope are parents are aware of their daughter's madness

God bless Nigeria Army

I don't think Gtb was actually sealed, I think the owner of that house is involved in a fraudulent act, hence his property/ies needed be on sealed. Weytin consign GTB consign Efcc.

jidxin:
lmao guy fish drown ooo fishes needs oxygen like human some swim up to get it while odas uses dia Gills now imagine wat happens wen oxygen is cut off besides not all fishes ve gills cat fish 4 instance

Guy Fish don't drown, if dissolves oxygen is depleted in a water body, the fish simply needs to come to the surface of water to cat gasp for oxygen in d atmosphere for seconds and return to the water or do dat severally for survival.
Dissolved Oxygen are not cut off in any water body dey only get depleted or not saturated efficiently.

Note ; There is no fish, I repeat, no FIN-fish without gills, if it doesn't ve gills den it's not a fish. Who told you Cat fish doesn't posses gills They do my dear Just that dey also posses lungs tooo and it's a very rugged species it can survive several hours outside water cos it posses lungs for atmosphere oxygen

maiahsaiah:
Was just joking dearie

Cool dearie, no offense picked. Be good

maiahsaiah:
ts your type that requests for extra sheet in exam yet they'll still come out with F. No keep on writing, they created nairaland only 4 u. Mr "occupy till I come"!!!

Am. Deeply sorry if it hurts

7
Ten fish(es) in the tank
Firstly there is a need to let you know that Tank is a confinement hence no fish can go out of the confines.

2 Fish(es) drown, you need to know know that fishes don't drown in water, it's impossible, they ve gills for respiration, fins for locomotion, streamline for Navigation and other features to make dem survive in the water. ERROR fish don't drown.

4 fish(es) swims away from a tank To where Error that's impossible.

3 fishes are dead, Yes that's possible but after the confirmation of their death, are they evacuated from the tank?

IF YES dey are evacuated from there, then plus the one fish that wasn't talked about, we should have 7 fishes in the tank
BUT If the 3 dead fishes are not evacuated then we still have 10 fishes in the tank just that 7 will be alive then 3 will be dead, if the dead 3 are not quickly evacuated let's say like 4hours, Cannibalism will take place on the dead fish by the living ones hence it will eventually remain 7 fish.



Talking as a fish expert, a superior argument may win anyways but to the best of my knowledge in my field 7 is the appropriate answer.

D

Can u pls zoom d upside

Best

Nysc and politics

A

Revenue Generation: Upgrading of the Mining Cadastre Office and the Mines Inspectorate Directorate – automation, efficient review of overlapping and inactive titles, guaranteeing the integrity of mining licenses, external audit of revenue receipts in the past years would be undertaken and the establishment of Mines Police
Formalising Artisanal and Small Scale Miners: Strengthen the institutional support to artisanal and small-scale miners for integrating them into the formal economy.
Finalise Privatisation Exercise: Based on the recent update provided by the Bureau of Public Enterprises to the Ministry, an audit of privatised assets would be undertaken.
Geosciences: Review and conclude all open contracts for collecting geosciences data; for projects that have been contracted and the collection flights flown, finalize payments and make these and other data available to investors.
Capacity Building: We will invest in capacity building for the technical and operational staff in the Ministry and organise the Ministry for optimal delivery of the goals outlined.
Non-State Actor Engagement: We will encourage and work in partnership with non-state actors especially Community Development Associations and Civil Society Organisations to promote participation and inclusion and ensure community development and safer/environmentally sustainable mining practices.
Regulation: We will work with stakeholders to review existing licenses and bring them up to date where there are issues; our goal is to get licensees who are sitting on the fence to have sufficient confidence to start investing real capital. That said, starting March 1, 2016, we will start enforcing the “use it or lose it” doctrine enshrined in the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007. The period from today to 1st March 2016 should be considered an amnesty period to allow regularization of papers.
Formation of Investment and Business Support Team: There will be some low hanging fruits e.g. providing support to miners who are close to production but facing one or two administrative issues. We are setting up a new investment team that will help get such companies “over the line” and into production mode. We will also engage rapidly with key Nigerian companies that are today importing raw materials that can be supplied domestically e.g. coal for cement kilns. That import substitution push will be a quick to medium term win. The team will also start working closely with foreign investors who need guidance to launch operations in Nigeria.
Launch Stakeholder Communications: We will launch a series of targeted sessions with investors, communities and other parties in the next few weeks to continue the consultations we have begun since taking office. Our focus would be on ensuring that we are listening and acting as well in the best interests of committed partners. As much as possible, these sessions will be used to refine our thinking, as well as solve problems.
Conclusion
It is fair to say that we have a great deal of work ahead of us. That said, we are building on a hard fought legacy and it is important that we continue to refine that structure until it gives us the type of industry all Nigerians and our international investor friends will be proud of.
We ask for your patience but we also recognize our responsibility to boost confidence. As Solid Mineral’s share of GDP grows over the coming years, we will continually review what we have done well and what can be improved. One thing we can guarantee is that this Administration will make choices that will ensure that Nigeria and her partners, domestic and foreign, create a profitable, safe and sustainable solid minerals growth story. Hold us to account and challenge us.
Thank you for your kind attention.

STATE OF THE SOLID MINERALS SECTOR AND WAY FORWARD
Presented by
Dr. ‘Kayode Fayemi, CON
Minister of Solid Minerals Development
at the Inaugural Media Briefing of the Ministry
on Monday, December 21, 2015
Protocols and Introduction
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. The core purpose of our gathering today is acquaint you with some of the emerging strategic priorities and plans of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for accelerating and scaling up the role of solid minerals in Nigeria’s economy. I speak today on behalf of the core leadership of this ministry and duly acknowledge the support and contributions of my brother and colleague Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari, Minister of State and the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Istifanus Fuktur.
We will also like to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunity to serve our republic and her citizens. In the short period that we have been here, we must acknowlesdge the enriching support of staff of the Ministry and its key departments and agencies for their warm welcome, insights, support and frankness.
Our Point of Departure: A Partially Leveraged Asset
Ladies and gentlemen, it is no news to anyone that Nigeria has tremendous mining endowments. Today, we have at least 44 known mineral assets that include precious minerals, base metals, bulk minerals and what are known as rare earth minerals. More specifically, our most promising mineral assets include gold, iron ore, baryte, bitumen, lead, zinc, tin and coal.
We have reasons to believe that available data of our reserves understates what the almighty God has blessed our country with in many cases. We have barely updated some of the geosciences data collected 50 years ago or earlier; so we are cautiously optimistic that our mining endowments actually exceed what is currently stated.
That said, based on current data, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector makes up about 0.34% of gross domestic product (GDP). That means that based on current official exchange rates, the mining sector contributes N400billion in value to the economy. While that is a significant role, it is smaller than its true potential as the vast majority of our mining assets have yet to be exploited. In fact, what has been happening is the the sector has more or less been operating sharply below capacity, with many mining operations manned by small scale artisanal miners, as opposed to the large scale players.
Mining is not new to Nigeria. As a nation, mining of our resources began in 1902 in key mining towns such as Jos and Enugu. From these early operations led by the then British Colonial government, we went on to a more private sector focused model, and then moved to companies controlled by government such as the National Steel Company and the National Coal Corporation. The policy shift created too much uncertainty which occasioned many private investors leaving Nigeria and the sector suffering sharply as a result. The government at the time unfortunately did not do a good job of running mining companies and as a result, the sector’s progress grounded to a halt. Needless to say, little attention paid to the sector over the years compounded by, in some cases, poor policy judgements of previous administrations are some of the factors that have stunted the sector’s growth.
Today, following extensive reforms started in 1999, which essentially crystallized around the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, Nigeria is once again on the path to providing a transparent and workable regulatory and policy environment for private sector led mining. And companies have started responding to all the efforts made by my predecessors. Today we have companies such as Tongyi Allied Mining, Dangote Group, Segilola Gold, Kogi Iron Mines, Multiverse Resources, and Australian Mines Ltd etc. blazing the trail in the mining sector. We also look forward to welcoming more companies into the sector.
Challenges and Constraints
That said, even for our pioneer miners, the road to mining prosperity has not been easy. Many companies who have kept faith with Nigeria have struggled due to challenges in the solid minerals sector. Today, the Nigerian mining industry faces two (2) sets of challenges: external and internal.
External Challenges
The global mining market is in turmoil as key sources of demand that supported prices over the past two decades have declined. As you all may be aware, there is continuous global decline in prices of mining products which has put mines and mining houses under tremendous pressure. We see this reflected in the sharp declines in the share prices of Glencore, BHP-Biliton, Anglo American and Rio Tinto for example.
Naturally, as a result of falling metal and asset prices, many of the top mining houses are pulling back from investment planning, shutting down mines and optimizing current operations. All mining now has to be cost and process efficient.
For Nigeria, it creates a challenge to attract the large houses in the current time frame but therein also lies a great opportunity. We have therefore adjusted our go to market strategy to reflect a need to jump start market growth using a mix of domestic mining houses, junior mining companies and large global miners. The good news for Nigeria is that we have tremendous domestic demand for industrial minerals and metals – in the construction industry for example, so we will be focusing on working with other key MDAs to ensure that demand is met by Nigerian miners and processors.
Internal Challenges
Our internal challenges are of a different nature, and not a supply-demand balance issue. Internally, we need more of the support structure that will enable industry growth. At present, there are eight key internal challenges we face:
1. Limited Infrastructure: This is a key issue; the absence of appropriate infrastructure e.g. water, railroads and port handling facilities for base and bulk minerals makes it difficult for Nigeria to export iron ore for example. We need to improve energy, transport and market links to mines.
2. Insufficient Geological Data: While we have some geosciences data, we are still heavily reliant on work done 30 to 50 years ago to estimate our reserve potential. We need to provide more detailed, investment grade data to support investors. Mining licenses issued by the Cadastre Office should be able to serve as collateral for loans, if supported by reliable information on the quality and grade of deposits.
3. Limited Cooperative Federalism: Absence of incentives for states to become involved in mining is a key constraint i.e. royalties and taxes not directly accessible to states; need to review this arrangement. States have also not taken full advantage by setting up mining joint ventures, limiting their capacity to generate IGR.
4. Low Productivity: Nigeria’s mining techniques and processes need to be upgraded in order to reduce mine site waste, and boost productivity of output. Ditto some of our older steel plants. Even in a labour intensive mining sector, it is important that miners have access to the most efficient supporting technology.
5. Illegal Artisanal Mining and Community Challenges: Much of Nigeria’s mining is conducted informally at levels as high as 80% of activity in some regions of the country, not necessarily of Naira earnings. We need to bring these miners into a legalized framework, making them real start-up miners and ensuring they pay government the right set of taxes and royalties. I want to be clear: there will no longer be a free lunch, as the Mining Act will be firmly enforced.
6. Weak Institutional Capacity: The Ministry has undergone significant changes since 2007 but still remains constrained with respect to enforcing existing laws and policies, supervising mines, and leading the provision of geo-sciences data. The Ministry will therefore need to add more technical staff and also upgrade the skill set of the Mining Inspectorate staff as well as other staff in the Ministry and its agencies.
7. Insufficient Funding: Funding has been a challenge partially because the sector had not been a focus area for both government and financial institutions. Thus, a number of projects have drawn funding from offshore sources, while others have sought capital from a few Nigerian banks. We have commenced constructive engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and with commercial lenders to help them create the teams to sharpen commercial options for Nigerian miners.
8. Weak Ease of Doing Business and Perception Issues: Nigeria still remains a challenging place to do business based on data from the World Bank’s survey over the past decade; while we have improved, that has had a negative impact on mining. Mining specific data such as the Fraser Institute survey puts Nigeria nesr the bottom of investor friendly destinations, even if that is more perception than reality, it shapes investor decision making process.
For Nigeria, the continued presence of these issues will hold back market development. Therefore, we must resolve these set of issues as they impact how we choose to compete in the market. While external markets create opportunities we can exploit, improving ease of doing business or reducing transport costs will enable us to attack market opportunities as a lower cost competitor for example. Indeed, the global mining party is ours to attend, but we must dress appropriately and come with a competitive edge. My team and I will be spending more time on building collaborative links with other key ministries to enable us build a cost competitive industry.
The President’s Agenda and Promise
Beyond the challenges, the key question is if all goes well, what do we want to achieve in the Solid Minerals sector? You must have heard Mr. President oft repeated views that he wants the sector to be a key source of economic growth and diversified revenue base for Nigeria. In fact, Mr. President has stated clearly that our goal is to build a more diversified economy in which oil remains important, but its share of the overall portfolio of revenue sources declines as the whole pie grows bigger. The recently approved Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) emphasizes the place of solid minerals in thr economic growth strategy of the country.
Based on that presidential promise, to build a more diversified economy, our task as a Ministry is therefore to remove any and all obstacles to such growth. From working with the National Assembly to receive the right budgetary provisions to ensuring expansion in bulk handling terminals at multiple river and ocean ports, our role is to ensure that things work as intended.
Our Emerging Vision – A Safe, Sustainable and Profitable Sector
The trajectory of Nigeria’s extractive industry has not been without controversy. We are all witnesses to the challenges in the oil industry over the past few decades. More recently, we have seen significant challenges in the gold, lead and zinc mines of Zamfara where illegal mining without a clear understanding of how to handle poisonous material such as lead has had incredibly devastating consequences. We will continue to work with all stakeholders on the remediation of the health challenges arising from poor mining activities.
Given where we are and the early stages of the industry in Nigeria, we believe it is important that we set the right tone and create a structure for long term success. Therefore our core philosophical beliefs that will guide our decisions are as follows:
1. Jobs Creation - We want to build a sector that is a jobs and growth machine, capable of working alongside other sectors to create a range of career options for our citizens.
2. Revenue Generation – We want to build a sector that blocks all forms of leakages in the revenue accruals with a view to ensuring prompt and comprehensive collection of revenues.
3. Industrialisation - We want to build an industry that will support Nigeria’s industrialization, expansion of low cost coal generated power, earn foreign exchange and generate tax revenues for government at all levels.
4. Sustainability - We want to build an industry that is sustainable, and will balance profit maximization with sustained economic options
5. Transparency - We want to build a transparent industry that broadcasts what it pays to government and other partners.
6. Environmental Justice - We want to build an industry that values environmental equity and fairness for any and all.
7. Cooperation - We also want to build an industry that integrates states, communities and existing artisanal miners where possible into the mining ecosystem.
If we deliver on this vision, then we can build a mining sector that Nigerians can be proud of 30 years or more from now. This sector should deliver double digit growth over the next decade, with important direct and indirect economic impacts on households. To improve our likelihood of building such an outcome, the Ministry also sought to extensively understand the entire operations in the sector. Therefore, we continue to review lessons from some of the best mining industries to see what lessons we can draw from their experiences, balancing some of the objectives outlined above.
Our Emerging Federal Mining Strategy
Given all the opportunities and challenges outlined, as well as the global market outlook for mining, the Ministry has developed a framework strategy to drive growth. Let me outline the key elements of the strategy along 3 dimensions: what our aspirations are; where Nigeria should focus on; and how we intend to win.
Aspiration: First, our strategic aspiration is to build a sustainable, globally competitive mining sector, and related supporting sectors that will prudently use the finite resources available to improve the quality of life for Nigerians
Where to Focus: We will focus on supporting and growing Nigeria’s position in mineral assets with commercially proven reserves. Our assets will then be used to serve 2 key markets: a domestic industrialization market that is more beneficiation focused; and an export market that is more focused initially on the export of ores and raw materials. The mix of investors that will target Nigeria will reflect that preference of serving both the domestic and export markets. We anticipate that as we expand our geosciences databases and insights, we will also expand what minerals we compete in.
How to Win: Nigeria will focus on going to market as a quality and cost leader, rather than a scale based operation, pending further understanding of our reserves position. Be that as it may, we are interested in building a profitable solid minerals industry, not the largest in the world, hence we will always make shrewd decisions with our partners, communities and other stakeholders. For example, we will rather be the most competitive gold producer in the world and serve only a fraction of supply, than be the biggest producer and have equity investors generating losses.
Given the aspiration, the where to play and how to win choices, the role of government would be to invest in activities and levers that reduce the cost of doing business, and improve Nigeria’s perception as a high quality mining destination. Over the next few months, we will conduct additional analysis to refine our strategies and the policy regimes that will emerge to support and accelerate the execution of the strategy.
Ensuring Successful Execution of Emerging Strategy
To ensure a successful implementation of our strategy, we have also invested significant time in brainstorming key drivers of success. We have identified 8 key drivers of success which we will now review briefly.
• First, we will always work off an integrated plan that emerges from a broad consultation process; once the plan is finalized, we will actively communicate it to key stakeholders. Based on what we have shared today, much of it will not be a surprise.
• Second, we will build an investor friendly regulatory environment; today we have a very strong system but it can always be further improved; for now, our focus will be on enforcing its key elements including its “use it or lose it” license provisions and automating its operations.
• Third, we will champion and only use a partnership model with investors, communities, artisanal miners and states to create the right incentives for all parties. A good example is the Northern Numero Resources Ltd which is a partnership of an Australian group, the Federal Government and Kebbi State Government and the Community.
• Fourth, we will build a more widely available geosciences database; as we create more accurate geological maps, investors can become more confident and precise in their decision making
• Fifth, we will work closely with our colleagues in the Federal Executive Council particularly Environment, Finance, Industries, Trade and Investment, Interior, Transportation, Power, Works and Housing, Defence/ONSA, Customs and the BPE with a view to strengthening inter-agency collaboration and coordination.
• Sixth, we will work closely with banks, and other financial institutions, public and private to improve access to capital for solid minerals sector operators, large and small; we want Nigerian financiers to understand this industry again, and build teams to help drive its growth.
• Seventh, we will also look inward and rebuild the Ministry’s personnel, offices and teams to ensure we are streamlined, and investing appropriately to support growth; for example, we will add more technical and commercial persons, even as we consolidate certain functions to create efficiencies.
• Eight and finally, we intend to use solid minerals as a growth catalyst for communities. We will engage closely with multiple MDAs to ensure that communities we work in are treated with respect and professionalism to ensure that they can build a diversified economy over the years.
We have made varying levels of progress across each of these elements. Most would be classified as work in progress, while a few such as using solid minerals to drive growth and wealth in communities can be considered very early stage or not started. Over the next 12 to 36 months, we will periodically report back on progress against these 8 categories.
Next Steps: Some Short Term Actions
Before wrapping up today’s prepared remarks, I also want to talk about what my team and the entire Ministry will be doing in the next few months. Our immediate priority now is to accelerate investor confidence in the mining markets, and get the sector growing and jobs created. To do that within the context of the overall emerging strategy, we will be taking the following actions:
Finalize Market and Technical Diagnostic: We are working on creating one consistent view of Nigeria’s mining industry, drawing on a range of internal and external data; this will help inform our strategy as well as investor decisions.

You ve moved on or passed on Clarify biko

F

Kaduna Military Panel: Ekiti PDP disowns ex-scribe
The Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has frowned at the impersonation of the position of the State Secretary of the party by one Dr Tope Aluko at the ongoing military panel on the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State.
The party has equally warned that whatever is recorded by the military panel in the name of the said impersonator on the involvement of military in the Ekiti election will render the whole exercise illegal and a charade.
In a statement by the State Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the PDP said that it was ridiculous that a non-member of the party could be admitted to testify in the name of PDP despite a widely publicised expulsion of the fellow by the party on 31st July, 2015.
Adebayo explained that the expelled secretary had only demonstrated the traits of anti-party activities that led to his expulsion, adding that there was nothing objective or reliable that could be taken from him in this case.
He noted that Aluko, who testified on oath as principal witness for the PDP at the election petition tribunal, would only be confining himself to the wrath of the law by chosen to negate same after he had said that the election was free and fair to the Supreme Court level.
According to him, Aluko and four members of the State Working Committee were expelled on the 31st of July, 2015, while the National Working Committee of the party upheld the expulsion on the 4th of November, 2015 via a letter signed by the National Organising Secretary, Abubarka Mustapha.
In the letter from the national secretariat of the party, the
replacement of the expelled officers were also approved with Pastor Tope Anjorin as the new State Secretary of the party, while Mrs Yemisi Afolabi was named as the State Woman Leader.
Other officers appointed by the party included Gbuyiro Sunday as the Vice-Chairman Ekiti North and Mojeed Azzez Apempe as the new State Auditor.
PDP stressed that it was appalling and shameful that somebody that was expelled from the party based on his disloyalty to the party and gross indiscipline could now be admitted as a witness before a respected military panel.
"We want to say categorically that Dr TKO Aluko is no longer the Secretary of PDP in Ekiti State neither is he a member of the party again, our Secretary is Pastor Tope Anjorin, so anybody dealing with the expelled member is only doing so at his or her own risk, as well as dealing with an impersonator."

There is disquiet in Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over its expelled Secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko’s appearance before the army panel probing soldiers’ roles in the June 21, 2014 governorship poll.
Aluko is believed to have travelled to Kaduna, venue of the sitting of the panel, led by Maj.-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, armed with what a source described as “very incontrovertible and incriminating evidence”.
At Tuesday’s sitting, Aluko was said to have chosen to testify in camera, following what the source described as the “sensitivity” of his evidence and the role his testimony could play in the outcome of the panel’s report.
Some military officers were in Ekiti during the election, including Capt Sagir Koli, who secretly recorded the voices of senior army officers and PDP chieftains perfecting strategies to “rig” the election.
Personalities whose voices were recorded included former Brigade Commander, Artillery Regiment, Akure Brig.-Gen Aliyu Momoh; Governor Ayo Fayose (the then PDP governorship candidate), Musiliu Obanikoro (then Minister of State for Defence), Iyiola Omisore (then Osun PDP governorship candidate) and Jelili Adesiyan (then Minister of Police Affairs).
Aluko was expelled in July by a disciplinary panel Fayose faction. His expulsion was recently confirmed by the PDP national leadership.
A party source told The Nation yesterday in Ado-Ekiti that Aluko’s appearance has been causing ripples and disquiet in the government and party circles.
The source revealed that although the Ayo Fayose-led administration and the Idowu Faleye-led PDP exco know that Aluko is aggrieved but they never expected him to “testify against the party from which he had benefited”.
The source said: “We are shocked to read in the papers that Aluko went to testify against our party and this has been causing anxiety in government and party circles.
“If anyone says he is not moved by TKO’s action, such a person is lying. This is because TKO knows a lot about what transpired before, during and after the election.
“He was privy to many meetings held on strategies and logistics used to win the election.
“Besides this, TKO has many documents detailing liaison with the Jonathan presidency, military and federal agencies, how senior security chiefs were bribed to favour Fayose.
“Things ought not to have degenerated if the situation was well-managed.
“There are better ways that disagreement and grievances could be resolved. But for a senior party chief to testify against his party shows that things have gone from bad to worse.
“Although we are all waiting for the outcome of the probe but we know that Aluko’s evidence won’t bode well for the party.”
The Ekiti PDP has faulted the claim of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Olajide Awe that 36,000 soldiers were deployed for the election.
The party accused Awe and other APC chieftains, who appeared at the panel, of spewing “lies from the pit of hell”.
In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, in Ado Ekiti, the PDP said: “How did the soldiers come in? Where were they camped? Where were they deployed?
“We are asking these questions because Ekiti is not a coastal state to say they came in through the seas.
“Ekiti has no rail lines to say hundreds of train coaches brought them in.
“ Awe must also provide the army formations from which the soldiers were brought to Ekiti.
“To the best of our knowledge, the few soldiers that came were from the Nigerian Army Brigade in nearby Ondo State and we are sure that the strength of that brigade is not up to 10,000 men.”


thenationonlineng.net/secretarys-appearance-at-military-probe-unsettles-pdp/

KOGI GUBER; CHOOSING BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND LUCIPHER.
By Ayiti ADEBAYO
Elections all over the world provides an ample platform for citizens to elect their leaders, the people, who are unarguably the highest stakeholder in a democratic government sees the unique platform offered by periodic elections as an opportunity to control their own destiny by electing leaders whose agenda and manifestoes are in tandem with their aspiration.
Saturday 21st November 2015 provides this unique platform for the people of Kogi State. As much as this would have been a cheering development, the character of the leading contenders in Saturday polls leaves much to be desired. As at today, all opinions and feelers from Kogi indicates that the election will be a straight fight between the incumbent Governor, Idris Wada of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and Prince Abubakar Audu of All Progressive Congress(APC). Though there are other contenders from Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and others, but they are not in the forefront and are very unlikely to pull any surprise string at the poll.
Interestingly, the two major contenders have been opportune to rule the State and can as such be appraised on records. While Wada of PDP is the incumbent Governor, Audu of APC has been Governor twice, first in 1992 and later between 1999-2003. He has been struggling to return to the Government house since 2003.
In my humble opinion, I think Kogi people deserves better than both Audu and Wada.
Abubakar Audu presided over Kogi between 1999 and 2003, though his tenure witnessed some level of infrastructural development, he could not be said to have performed above the average line. Besides, He is the same man that was elected in 1992, more than two decades ago, he was elected again in 1999 and he is still seeking the same office in 2015. Above all, a corruption case of # 11Billion filed against him by EFCC is still hanging menacingly on his head like the proverbial sword of Damocles. No thanks to Nigeria Judiciary.
On the other hand, Idris Wada(Incumbent Governor) is worse. Under his watch, Kogi has been on the reverse gear of development. There has been a huge dearth of infrastructural facilities, the hospitals in Kogi have been moribund, the standard of Education in the state has fallen tremendously. Workers in the State and Local Government workforce are being owed several months salary arrears, Kogi under Wada is one of the most porous states in terms of Security of lives and properties, armed robbers terrorise commuters on Okenne-Lokoja highway nearly on daily basis. There could not have been a further evidence of failure of governance than what is currently obtainable in Kogi under Wada's watch.
Despite the abundance of human and mineral resources in the Confluence State, successive governments have failed to harness the necessary human and material/mineral resources readily available to diversify the state's economy and make life more abundant for its citizens. The spate of armed robbery in Kogi is a direct offshoot of Youth unemployment, yet, mineral resources abound untapped and the leaders there are not thinking.
Conclusively, In my humble opinion, I consider both Wada and Audu unfit for new generation leadership. I wish there is a third force in the contest, unfortunately, the Labour Party does not have the required structure and resources to pull any surprise string in the election. One could only wish Kogites well and charge the new generation politicians to put on their thinking caps ahead of 2019. For this election, choosing between Audu and Wada is like a straight choice between the devil and lucipher, whoever wins on Saturday, it'll still be business as usual.
'Bayo Ayiti writes from Osun State, Nigeria.
adebayoayiti@yahoo.com.

Why the wailing?? ? Conserve your strength for greater wails ahead. This man will deliver and Nigeria will be great.

Fayemi: hard times await illegal miners
Hard times now await illegal miners as the Federal Government has expressed readiness to invoke the extant laws to bring them to justice in its bid to diversify the economy.
Solid Minerals Minister Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who gave the government’s stance yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari had given a marching order to rid the sector of illegal mining and generate more revenue into the nation’s coffers.
Speaking with reporters in his hometown, Isan Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, the minister said the Mining and Mineral Act 2007 had provided the government the legal weapon to prosecute illegal miners and saboteurs.
The former Ekiti State governor said the nation had the potential to become a global leading player in the sector with 44 key minerals, which, he said could be found in about 350 locations in the 36 states.
He identified poor management of the sector in the last 55 years of independence as the reason why Nigeria had not gotten enough return in terms of foreign exchange, investment and job opportunities.
The minister explained that solid minerals and agriculture were very dear to the president in his plan to widen the nation’s income base and provide employment opportunities.
He added that nothing would be spared to restore vibrancy to the sector.
Fayemi said: “President Buhari came into government with strong integrity. And we won’t allow the integrity quotient to reduce. So, whoever perpetrates illegality in the sector must start packing his load.
“We are ready to tackle the cartels in the sector and those who think they can continue will face the maximum wrath of the law.
“If you glean through what President Buhari said when he came into power, every comment is punctuated with preference for solid minerals and agriculture as areas of interest in his efforts to diversify the economy. So, Mr. President has put me in his area of interest and I thank him for reposing confidence in me”.
He said the ministry is blessed with experts in geophysics, mineral resources, geology, metallurgical and material engineering, mineral engineering among others to translate the dream to reality.
“Though, I may not be an expert in mineral resources management, but having superintended over every sector as a governor, I think I have the experience.
“The task is not even about expertise, but service. I should be able to work with these experts to bring about the needed change in the sector.
“Nigeria used to be a centre of excellence in solid minerals, particularly in Tin and Coal since 1903, that was before the First World War, when petrol came, we abandoned production of these two minerals. But we have come to realise our mistake.
“We have coal in Enugu, diamond in Nasarawa, tin and columbite in Plateau and many other states. There is no state without a mineral. So, we have a lot of potential to tap and this we shall achieve,” Fayemi said

https://instagram.com/p/-BhC8CPB-M/.


See how a Kogi Boy, University of ibadan student Embarrassed his school. Ayam Ashamed.

Incase you nid help whenever you get to Umuahia, see my signature. Don't come in late. Abia is cool but surely you are what you get. Make your service memorable.

All the best.

enshi:
Well, for all new otondos coming to abia, we can't wait to receieve you guys. Our CDSs have been scanty since the POP of batch C. We are making all necesary arrangements for ur welcome ceremony..... Though I must warn that abia is a relatively poor state and after camp the service becomes boring therefore enjoy ur self as much as possible in camp as it would be for just 3weeks. For those guys thinking that its time for them to get new babes flex and do other things, hmmm if you get broke in camp its hell besides the girl you'd probably be flexing in camp may be sent to a local government 1000miles from you so my advice is for you to wait until you get to ur PPA first. Those of you with first class the university, polytechnic, colleges of edu, research institute, etc authomatically becomes ur PPA. And if you eventually get posted to micheal okpara university of agriculture then we may finally get to meet cos that's ma PPA and it pays 20k. The money you'd be given in camp would help you in getting accomodation whence you arrive ur PPA so don't spend lavishly...... Getting to camp on d 28th helps one get better hostel and bed space. Try to buy atleast one more shot cos the one that would be given in camp are sown to be small in size. Every document you have should be duplicated into max of 5. Going to camp with many loads will spell doom for you on the departure date so preferably one church wear, one mofty, one shoe, two whites and one white shot is perfect.... For any body that will finally be posted to umuahia, umudike, ndoro, isiala, oboro, amaoba etc I cud be of help. My name is corpper douglas batchA 08062360567..... Whatsapp, call, text.

Where in Mouau do you serve