Taraba Governor Kefas pledges suitable conditions, adequate security to solid minerals investors
He made the remarks during a maiden Taraba State Solid Minerals Investment Roundtable for a special engagement meeting with investors and representatives of mining companies.
The maiden meeting provided an opportunity for the Governor to personally interact with prospective solid minerals investors and further explore areas of collaboration in the development of the state’s abundant solid mineral resources.
Governor Kefas appreciated the investors and mining companies for honouring the state’s invitation and participating in the investment roundtable.
He assured them that Taraba State is ready to welcome credible investors, stressing that his administration is committed to providing a favourable business environment for investments to trive in solid minerals and other aspects of the economy in the state
The Governor said his administration has also put in place robust security arrangements to guarantee the safety of investors, host communities and mining sites across the state.
He explained that the support of the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has further strengthened security in Taraba, citing the establishment of the 10 Division of the Nigerian Army, with headquarters in Jalingo, as evidence of increased Federal Government presence in the state.
The engagement also featured a section-by-section interaction between the Governor and the various investors and mining companies, where they discussed possible areas of investment and collaborations.
Governor Agbu Kefas said he would engage further with the Minister of Solid Minerals Development to fine-tune some of the arrangements discussed during the investment meeting.
He explained that the outcome would subsequently be communicated to the investors in writing.
The Governor described the private engagement as an opportunity to familiarise himself with the investors and understand their interests and expectations.
He further urged prospective investors to give priority to the employment and development of local artisans and young people whenever they commence operations in the state.
According to him, Taraba has a pool of agile and hardworking youths with the capacity to contribute meaningfully to the development of the state’s mining sector.
The Governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the exploitation of Taraba’s mineral resources translates into jobs, economic opportunities and sustainable development for the people.
The Minister of Solid Mineral Dr Dele Alake who attended the round table commended Governor Kefas for his efforts to woe investors into the solid minirals sector which is in abondant in Taraba state.
The Minister expressed the readiness of the Federal Government to support any state that is making any effort to boost it’s economy in any way and urged investors that are ready to invest in Taraba State solid minirals subsector to abide by the rules and regulations set by the Taraba State Government.
Taraba State is endowed with large quantities of various solid Minerals across the sixteen Local Government Areas of the state ready to be tapped and the involvement of critical investors in the business will definately improve the Economic base of the state, provide jobs to the teaming populace reduce youth restiveness, and rate of illegal mininig which will greatly reduce insecurity to the barest minimum.
