By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Ministry of Defence has expressed it’s readiness to support the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development on it’s new Mining Police initiative to secure mining sites across the country.
The new support deal is to help secure mining fields across the country to enhance the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product and increase revenue for government.
The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru and his counterpart, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, Minister of State Defence gave this assurance while .answering quest from newsman after a courtesy visit on the minister.
Badaru explained that the purpose of the visit by the two Defense ministers was to discuss ” how we can provide security in the mining areas, we are working to provide Security on the farms; as well as provide Security in the mining sector, to make the country earn the much need foreign currency; mining sector is critical to help rejuvenate the economy.”
Responding to the initiative of creating mining police by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the Minister of Defence lauded the concept, assuring it will receive the necessary boost from the military.
He said ,” we have to clear the territory as military to ensure safety. When the Mining Police come, they can take it up from there and continue to provide security in those mining areas .”
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake said ” The main essence is to secure our, minerals sector. I have been saying it, even to foreign and local investors. That we need to secure our mineral sector, so that the operators both local and foreign can have a free and unfettered atmosphere to operate, so that we can derive maximum benefits from these God given resources. ”
And I have been saying it that I am working in conjunction with Ministry of Defence, inter- military agencies are involved, all the security architecture that we are reinvigorating.”
