The Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamali, has urged Kaduna state government to take advantage of the various foreign exhibitions to advertise it’s solid minerals deposits for foreign investors to key in.
Addressing the Business Expo of the 7th Kaduna Investment Summit (KADInvest 7.0) on Thursday, the Emir said Kaduna and other Nigerian states are blessed with variety of solid minerals, many of which were untapped.
The monarch noted that the states are losing a lot of income by not attending such foreign exhibitions where they could interface with investors who could explore and exploit the minerals.
He then, urged other state governments as well as companies to take advantage of the solid minerals exhibition in Thailand to showcase what the state has.
According to him, “I would like to draw the attention of Kaduna Investment (KadInvest 7:0) on the need to do more in the solid minerals sector. When I was serving in Malaysia, I invited Kaduna and other states in Nigeria to participate in certain areas of investment especially the solid minerals sector; this is one area that I feel is still untapped. We have all the minerals that you can think of in this state.
“There is need for Kaduna state to wake-up and join the international community because Thailand is the hub for expo on solid minerals worldwide. People go to Thailand annually for the exhibition and that is where you meet strategic partners that will come and support what you do here, support in terms of machineries, so that at least you have the technical knowhow on processing because we have a very large deposit of a variety of precious stones.”
Amb. Bamalli lamented that the Nigerian mineral resources seen at international expos are unnamed because the stones are said to be from Bangladesh, Gambia and other places.
“Certainly, we have a lot to offer and we have large deposits of these precious stones, so if you need any support in that regard, we can link up with the embassy and see how it goes. We are proud to say that Kaduna is still leading in the area of Information, Communication Technology (ICT). What is being done in the area of agriculture is remarkable and I hope that moving forward, the next government will build on the already laid foundation,” he said.
The Kaduna state Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology, Dr. Kabir Mato, in his remark, assured that Kaduna state government will continue to create jobs and grow the economy.
“The Kaduna state government has continued to make massive investments in the education sector, including digitizing the operations of state-owned tertiary institutions, training of teachers and purchase of computers at the secondary school level.
“This year the Tech Village initiative became operational, focusing on artisanal tech skills, by training and equipping residents to assemble smartphones, computers, and other ICT equipment. Our singular programme to prepare young people for the future when artificial intelligence surpasses the understanding of mankind is also well underway,” he said.
He explained that in 2020, 85 mineral exploration licenses, 40 quarry licenses, 15 mining leases and three small-scale mining leases became active for some mineral deposits available in commercial quantities including gemstones, gold, tantalite, columbite, manganese, lithium and nickel in the state.
