Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has stressed that the solid mineral sector needs a dynamic overhauling and go beyond selling of raw materials into the development of value chains to get added earnings and redouble Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He disclosed this on Monday, at the opening ceremony of the Nigeria Gemstones Conference held at the University of Ibadan Conference Hall, Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital.
The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Rev. Bunmi Jenyo, described the conference as a “laudable effort which will serve as a wakeup call to managers of the economy and policy makers across board.”
According to him, “The gemstone sector is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has not received the right attention despite the push to diversify our national economy. It is, therefore, a welcome development that we are gathered here to deliberate on this sub- sector.
“We have a challenge to develop process capacity to add high value to our solid minerals. Specifically, gemstones present a high value opportunity for willing and enterprising Stakeholders to operate.”
Jenyo, who commended the organizers of the conference also said, “We can however not achieve much unless we engage the private sector more productively. The organized private sector remains the most viable vehicle to drive the value addition and expansion of our processing capacity.”
Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, also represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Olanike K. Adeyemo, pledged government’s support for the resolution of the conference.
Yinka Kolawole
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