The Minister of Solid Minerals Development Mr Dele Alake said Monday that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deliberately assigned the portfolio to me him.
The minister said this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after the swearing in of the 45 ministers cleared by the Senate.
“Actually my portfolio has been the major shocker in this entire cabinet’s assignment of portfolios. However I can tell you authoritatively, it is deliberate. Everybody knows at least those who have an analytical mind and are following global trends in economic developments.
“Hydrocarbons are going down; oil, petroleum is going down globally and people are moving away from those areas. Now you have electric cars gas and alternatives to energy.
“This means our over reliance on oil is going to be detrimental to the growth of the Nigerian economy moving forward so, the next bet is solid minerals. Therefore, with this critical sector in mind, the President has to put the person he trusts most in charge and has the passion, knowledge and courage to drive that sector for the benefit of Nigeria and that is why I am here,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubakar Kyari, said Nigeria has the potential to feed itself and export food to other countries.
“Nigeria has the potential to feed itself and also export but however there are challenges and we are going to look at those challenges which I am sure the President will be willing to tackle in order to meet his goals.
“Agriculture is one of those tenets of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President and I am sure it will get the desired attention,” he said.
He said steps would be taken to tackle the tenacious problem of farmers and herders.
“For a very long time farmers and herders have actually lived in harmony and in peace so we will look at the societal issues that have contributed to the recent clashes and tackle it form that end.
“Of course the land is shrinking and what we need to do fast is to device ways of satisfying both the herders and also the farmers,” he said.
