L-R: Representative of the Department of Geology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Olatunbosun Adedayo, Council Member, Obafemi Awolowo University, Barr. Joseph Abaagu; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; Council Member, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye; Amb. Edward Sarki; and Yinka Ayanfola, Esq., during a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in Abuja recently.
Cyril Mbah, Abuja
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has charged the authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) to leverage its mineral and intellectual resources to build a world-class centre of mining excellence that bridges the gap between research and commercial extraction.
Alake gave the charge Saturday in Abuja while receiving a high-powered delegation of the University’s Governing Council, led by Professor Ralph Akinfeleye.
Other members of the delegation include Ambassador Edward Sarki, Barr. Joseph Abaagu, Prof Olatunbosun Adedayo and Barrister Yinka Ayanfola.
The Minister said the commercial value of the minerals available to the institution is sufficient to significantly reduce the share of government subvention in its total budgetary allocation.
He encouraged the university to explore private-sector partnerships to unlock the commercial potential of its mineral assets, noting that its technical expertise gives it a competitive advantage in attracting investors.
“You have the resource endowment underground, and you have the intellectual capacity,” Alake said, adding, “You can bring in investors through a joint venture. They provide the capital and machinery, while the University earns revenue and your experts participate as consultants and technical partners.”
The Minister also disclosed that the Federal Government has restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources by opening designated bitumen blocks to competitive bidding by qualified investors.
He stressed that while the university owns its land, ownership of mineral resources beneath it is vested in the Federal Government under the Constitution and mining laws.
“The university owns the land, but where there are mineral resources, their exploration and exploitation must still be undertaken in accordance with the law,” he explained.
He further said that “We must find a win-win situation that protects legitimate interests while upholding the Federal Government’s regulatory responsibility.”
Alake commended OAU for its longstanding contribution to the training of geologists and other professionals in Nigeria’s mining industry, and urged the institution to deepen its role in mineral exploration, research, innovation and commercialisation.
“The gap between intellectualism and application must be closed,” the Minister said and continued by stating that “Universities should not only generate knowledge; they should translate that knowledge into solutions, enterprises and economic value for society.”
He reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly regulatory environment that promotes responsible mining, value addition and sustainable economic benefits for Nigerians.
The visit by the OAU Governing Council is part of ongoing engagements between the Ministry and tertiary institutions to align academic training with industry needs under the Federal Government’s mining sector reform agenda.
Earlier, group leader Professor Akinfeleye had told the minister that the delegation came to see him to explore areas of cooperation and collaboration in the safe exploitation of deposits of mineral resources located within the university land.
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
