The federal government has reiterated its commitment towards improving the operations of artisanal miners by granting them access to funds to assist them in purchasing modern mining tools to ease their operations, increase revenue and take the mining sector to the next level.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, stated this when the Chief Executive Officer of TVC Communications, Andrew Hanlon paid him a courtesy visit in his office today, in Abuja.
The minister said the present administration in its effort to steer the economy away from crude oil to other areas of revenue generation, have provided about N2.5b for artisanal miners activities.
He enjoined artisanal miners to avail themselves of the opportunity by forming co-operative societies so as to meet the conditions set for accessing the funds and grow the sector.
He stated that any co-operative that meets the requirements would be granted access to the funds, adding that this administration is committed towards carrying on government business and activities in an honest and transparent manner.
He implored the Management of TVC Communications to use their TV station and large viewership to disseminate positive news about government, inform and educate the public properly of government’s policies and programmes.
Earlier, the CEO of TVC Communications, Andrew Hanlon, stated that the management has injected billions of naira into the organization with the aim of regenerating, re-invigorating and transforming it into a world class television station.
