To consolidate on the recorded successes in the Solid Minerals sector, the Minister of Solid Minarals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has called for new 7-Point agenda to move the sector forward.
He made the call in Abuja on Friday during the 2026 Ministerial Retreat, held for agencies in the sector and staff of the Ministry
Urging them to think outside the box and develop fresh 7-Point agenda to reposition the sector for prosperity, the Minister said the initial seven point agenda of the Ministry will not be abandoned as they are at various levels of completion.
At the retreat themed "Aligning the Ministerial 7- Point Agenda with the Presidential Mandate," Chairmen of the Solid Minerals Development Committees in the National Assembly however faulted the inadequate budgetary releases to the sector.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to give the sector the priority it deserves towards diversifying the economy from oil.
On the fresh 7-Point agenda, Dr. Alake said "I want to charge every one of us to come up with initiatives, initiatives that will take us beyond those seven points items on our agenda.
"For all I care, if we can set up a new seven point agenda above for it, I will be running, and we'll be going and flying higher. Like I said, we won't abandon this current seven point agenda, because they are in various stages of completion, some years, some, you know, various percentages, so we must continue to consolidate all of those, while setting new goals and casting our eyes on new horizons."
Continuing, he said "We must crest the mountain of success at all times, that has to be a watch word, so this retreat we must ask ourselves the questions, which areas do we need to improve or set new agenda. Yes, our agenda, as listed, is known: economic transformation, growth diversification, revenue generation top education youth empowerment industrialization local value addition security transparency, which is very high on my own score."
The Minister said that Institutional effectiveness is a foundational requirement and personal responsibility of every individual towards manifesting appropriate values, ethics and professionalism.
Without human element, he said that even best-in-class initiatives will fail to achieve the intended outcomes.
He urged the participants to seek ways to increase the sector’s contribution to GDP, adding that efforts should be made to move beyond revenue increases to measurable GDP impact in order for the benefits to be clearly visible nationwide.
The participants, he said, should also find ways to attract sustainable, higher-value investment.
He pointed out that the current investments in the sector are only starting points, while the goal is to get investments that will realize the full value chain of raw materials.
The Minister emphasised on the need to promote value addition and beneficiary transfer to local communities.
Dr. Alake also urged for more measures to combat illegal mining towards enhancing the sectoral security.
Stressing that the ministry has proposed strengthening mining marshals and increasing their operational capacity, including armored vehicles, fences, arms and ammunition, he said that budgetary cash backing is essential for its implementation.
He called on the participants to generate implementable ideas, cross-fertilize perspectives, and allow frank feedback.
Delivering goodwill message at the retreat and speaking on the budgetary provisions, Senator Ekong Sampson, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, said "Let me commend the Honorable Minister for Solid Minerals for the impressive and pragmatic approach that he has used, which has helped to reform for this sector. The results are there.
"What we need to do as is to speed up the process of harvest through meaningful, impactful budget implementation.
"As a National Assembly, we are not too comfortable that the solid minerals sector has not been given such budgetary impetus that will speed up the process of harvest.
"We need to prioritize attention to the sector. That is the easiest way that we can drive our diversification process." he noted
On his part, Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals Development, Hon Jonathan Gaza, said "We have come up with data policy and even legislature that we need to move this sector to the next level.
"But I want to use this opportunity to call on the federal government, the executive arm, the president, to please treat this sector with the priority it requires.
"An official budget of one trillion was given to this sector. But the capital component, how much has been released to this sector? And it is these funds that we would use to be able to take this sector to the next level."
The Permanent Secretary of Solid Minarals Development, Engr Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the retreat is a strategic leadership session meant to align vision, strengthen resolve, and accelerate delivery of the Ministry’s mandates under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Accordingly, he said, it is more than a routine meeting, but an occasion one to translate policy into measurable results.
The Permanent Secretary emphasized that the era of “business as usual” is over and that performance will be judged against clear deliverables.
The retreat, he said, has clear, strategic purposes to review and realign current deliverables with Presidential and Ministerial mandates; deepen understanding of the CDCU Framework for Performance Management; strengthen leadership cohesion and cross-departmental and inter-agency collaboration; institutionalize a results-based management culture across the Ministry and its agencies; and validate and finalize the Ministerial Performance Management System (MPMS) to guide 2026 work.