Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, says that the ministry’s partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will help in tracking operations in the solid minerals sector.
Receiving a delegation of the NIMC led by the Director-General, Dr Abisoye Coker-Odusote on a courtesy visit at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, Alake said that the ministry and the NIMC were partnering to promote digital identity in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
According to the statement on Sunday in Abuja by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Lara Owoeye-Wise, Dr. Alake explained that the partnership is aimed at strengthening governance, enhancing security and accelerating reforms across the sector.
The minister said that without proper identification, tracing and tracking operations would be difficult, creating an environment in which insecurity can thrive.
“In the solid minerals sector, we need effective tracking of both legal and illegal operations. A credible identity ecosystem will strengthen regulation, improve enforcement and support our efforts to sanitise the sector,” he said.
He emphasised that technology, statistics, data gathering and digital identity were critical enablers for evidence-based policymaking, improved regulatory oversight, efficient licensing, investment promotion and national development.
Alake said that the ongoing reforms in the solid minerals sector required robust collaboration with institutions such as NIMC to strengthen transparency and accountability across the mining value chain.
He described the commission as pivotal in Nigeria’s development architecture and that effective governance is impossible without a credible identity management system.
According to him, technology and reliable data have become indispensable tools for planning, regulation, investment and national security.
“NIMC occupies a critical position in translating policy into reality. It is pivotal to the development of any nation because governance today is driven by data, technology and credible identity systems,” he said.
On her part, the Director General of NIMC said that the newly enacted NIMC Act had positioned Nigeria to fully embrace a digital governance ecosystem.
Coker-Odusote explained that deeper integration of identity management into the solid minerals sector would facilitate database integration across government institutions, enhance regulatory compliance and strengthen security and law enforcement.
She added that the initiative would also improve the monitoring of operators and provide stronger support for the implementation of Community Development Agreements (CDAs) in mining host communities.
According to her, the commission’s digital identity infrastructure will enable government agencies to build more reliable databases, improve service delivery and foster greater transparency in public administration.
GIK/APA