FG moves to secure Nigeria’s natural resources – Alake

The Federal Government has intensified its efforts to secure the nation’s natural resources against illegal activities as the presidential inter-ministerial committee held an expanded meeting with security service chiefs.

Persecondnews reports that the inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, met with the security chiefs on Thursday in Abuja.

President Bola Tinubu, at the last Federal Executive Council meeting, established an inter-ministerial committee to draw up a road map for securing the country’s natural resources, including solid minerals, forests, and the marine economy.

A statement by the Special Assistant on Media to Alake, Mr. Segun Tomori, said: “Security agencies are going to give us the framework for the execution of our mandate.

“The security agencies, the service chiefs, the NSA’s office, and the Inspector-General of Police are going to form a smaller committee to give us the workplan and execution modalities, and we will be meeting in another fortnight.

“Commenting on the recent Ibadan explosion, Alake said: “I would like to take this opportunity to inform you about the current situation in Ibadan, although we are still awaiting the final forensic analysis report from the various security and intelligence agencies.

“We have gathered technical experts, including officials from the Mines Inspectorate of the Ministry of Solid Minerals, to thoroughly investigate the incident.

“Numerous fragments, documents, and other pieces of evidence were collected from the site, which need to be scientifically analyzed before an authentic report can be released.

“The reassurance by Alake on securing the nation’s natural resources comes after he opened up about the threat to his life after his comment on powerful Nigerians behind banditry and illegal mining.

Alake disclosed this on Monday during an on-the-spot assessment of the effect of the explosion that rocked the ancient city of Ibadan, killing five people while properties worth billions of naira were destroyed.

He stated:“I said it during my ministry’s budget defence at the National Assembly that powerful Nigerians are behind the banditry associated with illegal mining in the country.

“I said it openly. However, since I made the disclosure, I have been receiving threats, but we are undaunted because it has to be said.

“In any case, I was not saying anything new. Most people knew it. Most people have been saying it. I only gave it an official stamp based on the intelligence report.

“There is a lot of connivance among the strata of society, both the high, medium, and low. It is not an exclusive preserve of just the high up.”