The President of the Gold Miners Processors and Producers Association (GMPPA), Mr Auwal Bununu, has emphasized the potential of mining activities in Nigeria to create a significant number of jobs and boost the country's revenue generation capacity.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Bununu highlighted that the mining sector could also motivate industrial growth, enhance the quality of life in rural communities, and promote the local sourcing of raw materials.
Bununu stressed the importance of managing the mining sector effectively to reduce poverty, increase youth employment, and provide infrastructure, healthcare, food security, environmental management, and climate change solutions.
He urged the government to develop the mining industries to achieve economic development, with mining companies generating profits, employment, and economic growth, and partnering with the government and civil society to ensure that benefits extend beyond the life of the mine itself.
The mining industry also has a positive impact on the natural environment, climate change, and social capital, according to Bununu.
The association he leads is evolving private sector partnerships for mineral and metal development to generate revenue, attract investment, and promote trading in the country.
The association has also reached out to almost all the mining countries to achieve its goals and gathered all the mining operators under one umbrella to transform and diversify the country's economy.
Bununu emphasized that mining-dependent countries need to transform and diversify their economies, achieve higher living standards, and reduce poverty while managing expectations of an increasingly informed population.
He said the association aims to ensure it achieves these objectives, leaving a decent legacy for future generations. The mining association scribe called on private sector operators to be commercially active and collaborate strongly with the government for a thriving industry.
In summary, the mining sector in Nigeria has great potential to create jobs, boost revenue, motivate industrial growth, and enhance the quality of life in rural communities. However, effective management of the sector is crucial to reduce poverty, increase youth employment, provide infrastructure and healthcare, ensure food security, and address environmental and climate change issues. The GMPPA aims to evolve private sector partnerships for mineral and metal development, promote trading in the country, and diversify the country's economy, leaving a positive legacy for future generations