MEDIATRACNET
The federal government is determined to make Nigeria a global mining destination, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, has said.
The Minister said to make this happen, as a first step, the country would need to have qualified professional manpower to man the country’s minerals and mining sector.
Adegbite spoke at the 11th Induction Ceremony of the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists in Abuja on Thursday.
Head Publicity and Communications of COMEG, ‘Bunmi Ojo, who quoted Adegbite commended the organisation for striving to discharge its mandate of continuous registration of professionals in the sector to stamp out quackery and other unethical practices bedevilling the extractives industry.
With the government’s drive to diversify the country’s economy, by focusing on investments in the extractive industries, he said the government would support COMEG to actualise its objectives, by providing the conducive atmosphere required for its operations.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Oluwatoyin Akinlade, who was represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, Mohammad Suleiman, tasked the inductees to ensure they practice by the code of ethics of the profession.
Earlier, the Chairman, Council of Nigerian Engineers and Geoscientists, Ebimotimi Godspower Okpoi, said COMEG, the foremost body empowered by law to regulate the training of those who practice in the profession, was fulfilling its mandate of ensuring only those who wrote and passed the professional exams were inducted.
COMEG as regulator, he said, “is charged with enforcing the minimum standards of education and experience to be obtained by persons qualified to practice as registered mining engineers, geoscientists and other professionals; prescribing and enforcing the code of conduct of registered mining engineers, geoscientists; establishment and maintenance of register of persons entitled to practice as mining engineers, geoscientists and related professionals as well as regulate and control the practice of mining engineering, geosciences in all its ramifications among others”.
He urged the inductees to be good ambassadors of the profession.
Registrar/CEO COMEG, Zacheus Opafunso, said the sensitisation by COMEG of the importance of being registered professionally, has increased the number of inductees this year to 214 members.
He asked the inductees to act as watchdogs in the discharge of their duties.
