By Victoria Onehi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development,Dr Dele Alake has said the Federal Government in partnership with the private sector will harness local mineral resources to bring about sustainable development.
The Minister disclosed this at a press briefing held in Abuja on Tuesday in preparation for the African Natural Resources and Energy Summit Summit (AFNIS) which will hold on 15th to 17th July.
The Minister said this year’s summit which will take place at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, with the theme “Harnessing Local Content for Sustainable Development” is about building value where the resources come from.
“Our theme this year encourages a serious rethink about how Africa can shift away from exporting raw materials and instead build factories, refine minerals, generate power locally, and create jobs at home.
“Some of the key areas we’ll be focusing on include: Local Industrialisation: How to turn our abundant raw materials into processed products; batteries, solar components, fertilizers, and metals.
” Energy Transition: How to take advantage of our renewables and gas to create energy solutions that actually work for African communities solutions that are clean, reliable, and affordable.
Cross-Sector Integration: We’ll explore how mining and agriculture, petrochemicals and energy, can be coordinated in a way that makes sense for long-term growth.
” Policy and Financing: We’ll talk about crafting laws, incentives, and investment models that attract real capital, not speculative interest.”Alake explains.
The Minister who was represented at the Press briefing by the Director General of Nigeria Mining Cadestral Office Engineer Obadiah Nkom, said one of the major highlights of the event this year will be the formal launch of the “Africans for Africa” Fund; a bold initiative designed to mobilise African capital for African priorities.
Alake said this isn’t a slogan.”It’s a shift in mindset. We are saying clearly: the time has come for Africans to invest in Africa, to back our industries, our innovations, and our infrastructure with the resources we already have.
” For Nigeria, this summit gives us an opportunity to showcase progress under the Renewed Hope Agenda. We’ll present updates on our reforms in the solid minerals sector—local processing efforts, renewed commitment to community development agreements, the rollout of our mineral data platform (NMRDSS), and new steps we’re taking to attract responsible investment and ensure that mining benefits all stakeholders.”Alake noted.
The Minister said AFNIS 2025 edition will feature a Ministerial and CEO Retreat focused on shaping vision and trust among key stakeholders and a Technical and Investment Forum that brings experts and innovators together on key topics like ESG, critical minerals, and agriculture-mining linkages.
The Speakers expected at the summit include Hon. Hassan Joho of Kenya, H.E. Julius Mattai of Sierra Leone, Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi, Ministers from Malawi, Liberia, Senegal, South Sudan, and many others.
The Minister thanked the organising Committee, led by the Investment Promotion and Mineral Trade Department and supported by Core International and the supporting Ministries. Some of the partners and exhibitors, include Segilola Resources, Geo Scan Technology, Asba & Wisdom International, Kaduna Electric, Nbet, NCDMB, Anfani, and SF Protective Services, among others.
