For the government to encourage growth in the mining sector it must do an appraisal of the relevance and observance of the law on local content in the country. It must also do a proper assessment of its decision to increase rates in the sector. This is the position of the Association of Miners and Processors. The association was speaking through its Secretary General, Patrick Odiegwu at a press conference recently in Abuja. It decried the country’s 95 per cent importation rate of Barite needed in the oil and gas sector despite the huge deposits of the mineral resources in Nigeria.
Odiegwu told journalists that the statistics defy the 2010 Local Content Act, which mandates operators to give preference to Nigerian products, services, and employees to foster the growth of local content in the oil and gas sector
He said it was shameful that despite the commencement of crude oil production in commercial quantities over 50 years ago, the country still relies on Barite importation.
According to him, governments at all levels, especially the state and local governments should do more to harness the opportunities in the Nigerian mining sector.
He said, “Since over 50 years oil and gas have been produced in this country, 95 percent of Barite used in Nigeria are imported. Despite the Local Content Act that was passed in 2010 clearly stating that 60 per cent should be locally sourced.
“The state and local governments where these minerals abound in their domain should sit up. Barite miners should not continue to harvest poverty in Nigeria”, he said.
This comes as the Nigerian government recently announced fees and rate hikes, presumably to harness the country’s $750 billion mining sector potential revenue. However, operators in the mining sector last week appealed to the federal government to suspend the rate hikes.
