The federal government has increased efforts to safeguard the country’s natural resources, with the presidential inter-ministerial committee holding a larger meeting with service heads.
Dr. Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, convened an inter-ministerial group that met with security chiefs in Abuja on Thursday.
Left to right: The lineup includes the Inspector General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammed Badaru Abubakar MON, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, HE Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, Minister of State for Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Air Vice Marshal N V Aguiyi, and Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal. They gathered for an inter-ministerial security meeting with service chiefs on the imperative of securing Nigeria’s natural resources, as mandated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja on Jan. 25, 2024.
Recalling President Bola Tinubu’s directive at the previous week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, an inter-ministerial committee was established to devise a plan for safeguarding the nation’s natural resources, encompassing solid minerals, forests, and marine economy.
Following its inaugural session last Friday, the committee convened for an extensive meeting. Dr. Alake, speaking through his spokesperson Segun Tomori, underscored the significance of the gathering, which involved service chiefs representing various security agencies and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The meeting served as a continuation of earlier discussions, seeking valuable insights to formulate a comprehensive strategy aligned with the Presidential mandate to secure Nigeria’s natural assets effectively.
“Today, we have deliberated exhaustively. We have covered all the issues, all the grounds. Certain decisions have been made, and there is going to be another follow-up meeting because the security agencies are going to give us the framework of execution of our mandate. That has been the crux of today’s deliberations. The security agencies, the service chiefs, NSA’s office, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) are going to form a smaller committee to give us the workplan, execution modalities and we will be meeting in another fortnight,” the Minister added.
Reiterating the federal government’s stance on the tragic Ibadan explosion, Alake emphasized the need to await the findings of ongoing forensic investigations conducted by security agencies before any necessary actions are taken.
In attendance at the meeting were Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass Lawal; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola; Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru; Minister of Interior, Hon. Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo, and Minister of State for Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.
Representatives from security agencies included the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Audi; as well as representatives from the Office of the Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Naval Staff, Air-Vice Marshal Abdulkadir Abubakar and Rear Admiral I. Abbas, respectively, among others.
