The planned Solid Minerals Corporation would not conflict with the objectives of the Solid Minerals Fund, according to the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Fatima Shinkafi.
According to The Punch, she made this statement to the media on Monday in Abuja, following the release of the NEITI Industry report for the Solid Minerals Industry for 2021.
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund, which does not compete with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, is analogous to the SMDF, in her opinion.
“SMDF is not at odds with SMC, just as PTDF is not at odds with the NNPC,” she asserted.
Shinkafi also expressed support for the plans put forth by the current minister of solid minerals, Dele Alake.
The head of SMDF also addressed earlier allegations that the fund had been abused.
According to a report, the Federal Government may have converted the N1 trillion Natural Minerals Resources Fund, which was established to advance the solid minerals industry, into a “slush” fund.
In order to minimize the country’s reliance on petroleum, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration established the fund in 2002 by an Executive Order.
Findings showed that N738.7bn and $3m had been taken out of the fund for unrelated costs, such as the 2015 elections, the African Nations Cup, and the restoration of roads and drains in the states of Osun, Kano, and others.
She made it clear that the NMRF is distinct from the SMDF, which started operating last year.
“Solid Mineral Development Fund has never funded a football event, and we did not sponsor the 2015 elections as some have claimed,” Shinkafi added.
“The Act of Parliament from 2007 in the Mining Act merely gave SMDF legal life on paper. Before recently, the fund was not capitalized or active. SMDF was repositioned and reformed in 2020, and capitalization only recently began.
“The Natural Resources Development Fund, not the SMDF, is mentioned in the study. SMDF is a distinct organisation that is not the same as NRDF. There is a typo and false information when NRDF is referred to as SMDF.”
The majority of NRDF abuse, she continued, occurred prior to both the previous and present administrations.
