Presidential Bola Tinubu has constituted an inter-ministerial committee with the mandate of securing Nigeria’s natural resources.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made this known on Friday, January 19, 2024.

Alake disclosed that the inter-ministerial committee was set up by President Tinubu at Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

The minister, while speaking on the outcome of the maiden meeting of the committee on Friday, said: “We are here to deliberate on mainly the issue of security around Nigeria’s natural resources, as directed by the president. The president set up this committee. Solid minerals, marine economy, and forests all constitute Nigeria’s natural resources.

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“So, all the relevant ministers are here to deliberate on how to efficiently and effectively curtail all the atrocious, nefarious activities of either illegal mining, deforestation, or pilfering in the marine economy.”

Alake, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, revealed that the ministers cross-fertilized ideas and brainstormed on modalities of achieving the presidential mandate of coming up with a blueprint for securing the country’s natural resources.

“We will be having another meeting, an expanded one, comprising of all the other critical security agencies with a view to now finalizing strategies and presenting a report to Mr. President,” he added.

In his remarks, the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, stressed that the committee will come up with a robust strategy that will culminate in a rejigged security architecture to effectively secure the nation’s forests, blue economy, and solid minerals.

Other ministers at the meeting included Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (Interior), Gboyega Oyetola (Minister of Marine and Blue Economy), Balarabe Abbas Lawal (Environment), and Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim (State for Police Affairs).

The Star