Solid Minerals Will Be Nigeria’s Biggest Revenue Earner –Alake   

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Oladele Alake, has said the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to ensuring that the solid mineral sector becomes the biggest revenue generation hub of the country. He said for the present administration to achieve its vision of economic rejuvenation, all hands must be on deck. Alake said, “We have recognised the fortunes of the oil sector, and we are determined to ensure that the solid minerals sector is the Noah’s ark that would take us out of the deluge of economic challenges that Nigeria currently faces.” Speaking during the 22 Annual General Meeting and International Conference of The Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers in Kaduna, Minister Alake enjoined all the stakeholders to be patriotic, saying that the president is determined to take the nation out of the wood. Alake stated that the seven point agenda of the present administration is geared towards promoting the public private company that will galvanise financial and physical access of government in the sector. “It is now that our country needs patriotic and scientific contributions more than any other time, where all hands must be on deck to realise the vision of the Tinubu led administration, aiming at making solid minerals the biggest revenue generation hub among all sectors in the economic structure of Nigeria. “I wish to enjoin your society to be seen and heard in this historic process of rejuvenation and resurgence of the sector that will mature hitherto; our doors are open to ideas and proposals, and we shall re-evaluate all of them and shall reflect with our professional alacrity,” the minister said. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Society of Engineers said that Public Private Partnership (PPP) concession will make the private sector concessionaire responsible for full delivery of specified production and infrastructure services. “Government should intensify efforts in providing an enabling environment to attract investors into the mining sector for PPP agreement especially as it concerns fully explored strategic mineral deposits,” the Society advised. In its communiqué issued at the end of the AGM, the society tasked the federal government on Public Private Partnership, while also urging government and private investors to ensure due diligence before consummating any form of agreement. According to the communiqué, “the government should make deliberate efforts in implementing established roadmaps to fast- track the development of the minerals industry.” In the communiqué jointly signed by the President and Secretary General of the Society, Eng. Benson Jatau and Engineer Tony Ojile, enjoined the government to embrace PPP in its bids for industrial development in order to attract private expertise for service delivery enhancement. The duo however, called on the ministry of solid minerals development to as a matter of urgency resolve the challenge of state interference with the ministry statutory regulatory functions, as otherwise will erode the authority of the minister and also has the tendency of driving away private mining investors.

Global current account balances to narrow in 2023 -IMF

Global current account balances increased for the third consecutive year in 2022 and are projected to narrow in 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has said. According to the Fund, the widening over the three years reflects several factors, including the unequal impact of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020–21 and the increase in commodity prices fueled by the economic recovery in 2021 and supply concerns following the Russia-Ukraine war.   In a report titled, ‘External rebalancing in turbulent times; the Fund stated that the absence of widespread sudden stops during the pandemic enabled deficit economies to avoid an abrupt contraction of their current account deficits. “Currency markets exhibited significant fluctuations in 2022, driven by changes in the terms of trade and monetary tightening,” the Fund stated.   The report stated that an accumulation of official foreign exchange reserves played a limited role in net capital outflows from emerging market and developing economies just as net creditor and debtor positions remained at historically high levels. “Over the medium term, global current account balances are expected to narrow as the impacts of the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine recede. However, several risks surround this outlook, including a renewed increase in commodity prices, a slower-than-expected recovery in China, or a slower fiscal consolidation in economies with current account deficits. While the impact of geoeconomic fragmentation on global current account balances is unclear, it would unambiguously reduce global welfare. The excess global current account balances (defined as the sum of absolute values of current account surpluses and deficits in excess of their norms) have remained unchanged since 2021, after being on a declining trend for several years. While the widening of global current account balances is not necessarily a negative development, excess global current account balances can fuel trade tensions and protectionist measures or increase the risk of disruptive currency and capital flow movements. “Narrowing excess global current account balances would reduce the risk of financial crisis and improve welfare. Policy efforts, in both excess surplus and deficit economies, are required to promote external rebalancing. Where excess current account deficits in 2022 partly reflected larger-than-desired fiscal deficits, fiscal consolidation will help stabilize debt-to-GDP ratios and close current account gaps.” The Fund pointed out in the report that in economies where excess current account surpluses persist, higher fiscal spending in targeted areas will help them to meet their goals in climate, digital, and energy security, while reducing their excess surpluses. “Economies with lingering competitiveness challenges will need to address structural bottlenecks. Multilateral cooperation will help counter risks of geo-economic fragmentation, including efforts to strengthen the current rule-based trading system, and facilitate the green transition. Successfully completing the 16th General Review of Quota would ensure that the IMF is adequately resourced to serve as an anchor of the global financial safety net,” it further explained.