Business Recovery
and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) has called on the Federal Government to invest more in solid minerals, agriculture and transportation.
President of BRIPAN Mr. Dele Odunowo told newsmen in Lagos last week that the country, though blessed with enormous solid minerals that would enable her create weaith, and provide jobs for teeming unemployed, the subsector has not been tapped, instead oil was taking the attention.
Odunowo who lamented that oil took attention away from viable sectors in the country regretted that diversification of the economy ought to have taken place before now.
“Solid minerals need to be opened up, with liberal policies that can encourage Nigerians to go into”, he said remarking that because of the ready value of oil, it had diverted attention of the leaders away from other sectors that made the nation rich before.
The BRIPAN boss said government needs to invest in research on the availability of solid minerals on the country, fund the research adequately well and place high value on them.
He noted that over 40 million tons of talc deposits have been identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi and Kaduna States while there are huge deposits of coal ranging from bituminous to ignite in the Anambra Basin of South East.
“We have lead zinc ores within Asaba, while we have tin niobium, lead, around Oyo and Igbeti, with as much as over a billion tons of gypsum spread around Niger, Ondo, to mention a few”, he said.
The association Chairman stated that efforts have been made by the government in the area of agriculture but said more still needed to be done and urged government to add value on exported goods by making them semi-finished to reduce importation of finished goods in which the raw materials are got from the country.
Odunowo equally urged the government to consider transportation sector and its potentials as another way of diversifying the economy.