Presidential Committee meets Service Chiefs, to evolve strategy for securing Nigeria’s natural resources

*The Presidential Inter-ministerial Committee holds meetings to aggregate inputs for developing a fresh security architecture  and workable strategy to effectively secure Nigeria’s natural resources

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In a bid to evolve a fresh blueprint for maintaining Nigeria’s natural resources, the Federal Government has intensified efforts at securing the West African country’s resources as the Presidential Inter-ministerial committee held an expanded meeting with service chiefs.

ConsumerConnect reports  Dr. Oladele Alake, Honourable Minister for Solid Minerals Development, met with the Security Chiefs Thursday, January 25, 2024, in Abuja, FCT.

Earlier, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at last week Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC), had established the Inter-ministerial Committee to draw up a blueprint for securing the country’s natural resources, including solid minerals, forests, and marine economy.

The expanded Committee had held its maiden meeting last Friday.

Segun Tomori, Special Assistant to the President on Media, in a statement issued Thursday, noted Dr. Alake disclosed the highlights of the meeting.

The Minister emphasised that the Committee’s meeting with Service Chiefs that cut across all security agencies and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was a follow up on the earlier one to get inputs for developing a workable strategy to effectively secure Nigeria’s natural resources, in line with the Presidential mandate.

Revealing what transpired at the meeting with the stakeholders, Dr. Alake stated: “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.”

The Minister also said, “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.”

On recent tragic explosions in Ibadan

Dr.Alake restated the the position of the Federal Government on the recent tragic explosions in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, and stressed that the report of the ongoing forensic investigations by security agencies is being awaited before necessary action is taken.

Present at the meeting were Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abass lawal; Marine and Blue Economy Minister, Gboyega Oyetola; Defence Minister, Abubakar Badaru: Interior Minister, Hon. Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo and his Police Affairs (state) counterpart, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.

Others are security agencies, represented by Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Audi; representatives of Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Naval staff, Air-Vice Marshall Abdulkadir Abubakar and Rear Admiral I. Abbas, respectively among others.