The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), has called for stronger intergovernmental relationships in coordinating the activities of the mining sector in the country.
The NGF said this in a communique at the end of its meeting and signed by its Chairman, Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Friday in Abuja.
AbdulRazaq said that the governors received a briefing from the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake, on government policies, institutional and operational potential of the country.
He said that the minister sought the cooperation of state governments in his drive to create an enabling business environment for investors, support artisanal and small-scale mining cooperatives, address illegal mining, and de-risk the sector.
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“The minister encouraged state governments to form mining companies and apply for mining licenses.
“The forum welcomed the reforms, however, advocated for stronger inter-governmental relation in coordinating the activities of the sector from licensing, surveillance to operational safeguards,” he said.
AbdulRazaq also expressed the forum’s commitment to achieving the necessary improvements in insurance and nutrition in the health sector.
He said that this followed a briefing from NGF Senior Health Advisor, Dr Ahmad Abdulwahab, on states’ progress with expanding health insurance coverage and their performance on nutrition as well as the Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge.
He quoted Abdulwahab as informing the governors about the roll-out of the Phase II of the Human Papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination in 21 states starting from May 27.
