Nigeria’s Minister of solid minerals development, Mr. Dele Alake has said Nigeria’s solid mineral is valued at over $700billion and the country is well placed to meet the global demand for critical solid minerals.

Alake spoke on Wednesday on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

The minister said despite being behind other African countries in mining, Nigeria’s mineral deposit is valued at over $700 billion with huge potential for increase.

Speaking through the deputy director of Press in the Ministry of Solid Minerals, Mr Alake said, “Nigeria is endowed with a vast deposit of minerals critical to our new world,”

“Nigeria is well-positioned to play an important role in our new world. Our solid mineral sector is valued at over USD$700bn and we know there is more to be discovered.”
“Endowed with critical minerals, Nigeria should not and dare I say, cannot be ignored.”
“In our new world, mobility requires a new form of energy driven by minerals in our new electric vehicle world.”

“Technology is more mineral-dependent, our energy source will depend more on the energy converted from the sun and other sources, and energy storage is even more mineral-reliant.”

Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has announced the revocation of 167 plots of land in some highbrow districts of the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Areas affected are Maitama, Gudu, Wuye which had the highest revocation, 41; Katampe, Katampe Extension, Wuse 2, Jabi, Utako, Idu Industrial zone, and Asokoro which had the second highest revocation, 39.

In a notice issued Thursday night in Abuja, the administration said the plots were revoked due to the refusal or failure of their allottees to develop them.

“The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA hereby informs the general public that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 28(5)(a) & (b) of the Land Use Act 1978, revoked the underlisted plots with names and titles as reflected in our records for continued contravention of the terms of development of the Right of Occupancy to wit non-development”, the administration said in the notice signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola.

Wike had on assumption of office vowed to restore the master plan of the territory and revoke plots that had not been developed or those whose ground rents have not been paid for years.

He had consequently given a two-week grace to allottees to pay their ground rents or risk revocation of their allocations.

Addressing journalists in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital on Friday, Secretary to the State Government, Yakubu Tafida, said the government took the action because of insecurity and the need to protect mining workers, host communities and put in measures for revenue generation.

He described it as a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring the safety of workers and people in mining communities.

He said the state government was not unmindful of the fact that mining is under Exclusive Legislative List, but took the action after a thorough assessment of the current security situation.

The SSG said the state government believes that it is of utmost importance to prioritize protection and security of its citizens and as well prevent mining fields from being converted to breeding criminals by unauthorized foreigners.

“This has happened in other neighbouring states for which we want to avert,” he said

He stated that government had decided to address the concerns through comprehensive evaluation and enforcement of strict regulations that seek to promote responsible mining, safeguard the environment, enhance revenue generation and above all, secure lives.

Morocco’s earthquake damaged 2,930 villages in the High Atlas mountains with a total population of 2.8 million people, the minister in charge of the budget said on Friday.

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on Sept. 8 killed more than 2,900 people, most of them in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

At least 59,674 houses were damaged, of which 32% have totally collapsed, the minister, Faouzi Lekjaa, said in a presentation at parliament.

The government would offer 2,500 dirhams ($244) monthly over a year in aid to quake-stricken households, in addition to 140,000 dirhams compensation paid for totally destroyed homes and 80,000 for partially damaged ones, he said.

Reconstruction should respect the original architectural character of the High Atlas mountains, Lekjaa said.

The earthquake, Morocco’s deadliest since 1960, destroyed many hamlets with traditional mud brick, stone and rough wood houses, specific to the Amazigh-speaking Atlas mountains.

Overall, Morocco plans to spend 120 billion dirhams on a post-earthquake reconstruction plan that includes the upgrade of infrastructure over the next five years, the Royal Palace said on Wednesday.

The quake-stricken regions are among Morocco’s poorest, with many remote villages lacking proper roads and public services.

A small but restive volcano near the Philippine capital Manila spewed above average sulfur dioxide and volcanic smog on Friday, prompting authorities to close schools in dozens of cities and towns and to urge people to stay indoors.

The state volcanology and seismology institute said it observed upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in the Taal volcano’s crater lake, resulting in the emission of volcanic gases. Heavy pollution also shrouded buildings in the capital region in haze.

The alert remained at level 1 on a five-level scale, denoting a “slight increase in volcanic earthquake, and steam or gas activity”.

Located in a scenic lake in Batangas province near Manila, the 311-metre (1,020-foot) Taal is among the most active of 24 volcanoes in the Philippines.

Kennard Kaagbay, a tricycle driver in the province, has complained of throat irritation from the volcanic smog.

In January 2020, Taal volcano spewed a column of ash and steam as high as 15 km (9.32 miles), forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate and dozens of flight cancellations as heavy ash fell as far away as Manila.

Randy Dela Paz, operations section chief of the civil defence’s southern Manila office, told DWPM radio they received reports of respiratory illnesses in the province due to intoxication from the volcanic smog.

Volcanic smog, or vog, consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gases, such as sulfur, that can irritate the eyes, throat and respiratory tract.

Classes were suspended in several cities in the capital region and in dozens of towns and cities in Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas provinces.

The aviation authority on Friday told pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit.

The Philippines is in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.

Pakistan is striving to get donors to release $10 billion in pledges to help it recover from devastating floods by launching rebuilding projects that hinge on the funding, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar said on Friday.

Donors from around the world stepped up after Pakistan was hammered by floods last year and the $10 billion amounts to more than half of what Islamabad estimated it needed to rebound from the disaster.

“In all our interactions, one point has been that the projects are designed in accordance with the pledges, and that we ensure that they convert to tangible financial assistance,” Kakar told the national broadcaster.

“We’re trying to ensure that the amounts promised and pledged to us are dispersed to Pakistan and are spent on those affected by the floods,” he said.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly later on Friday, Kakar said the total cost of Pakistan’s resiliency and recovery plan had been put at $13 billion and specific projects were being submitted to donors.

“I hope our development partners will accord priority to the allocation of funds,” he said, adding that Pakistan also wanted developed nations to stick to commitments to provide $100 billion annually in climate financing to less-developed nations.

The funding is crucial for cash-strapped Pakistan but the government says it has not arrived, amid growing concerns about its future debt obligations. An IMF bailout was delayed until July this year over concerns about a lack of fiscal reform.

Among the donors were the Islamic Development Bank with $4.2 billion, the World Bank with $2 billion, Saudi Arabia with $1 billion, as well as the European Union and China. France and the United States also made contributions.

The floods, which scientists said were aggravated by global warming, affected at least 33 million people and killed more than 1,700 from the beginning of the monsoon season in mid-June 2022 until mid-November that year.

Also at the U.N. General Assembly Kakar said that Pakistan wanted peace with all its neighbours – including India, with which it has in the past fought three wars.

“Kashmir is the key to peace between Pakistan and India,” Kakar said, adding that the U.N. Security Council should secure its 1948 resolution stating that a plebiscite should be held in Kashmir to determine its future.

Kashmir is claimed in full, but controlled only in part, by India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars and engaged in numerous clashes over the region since both won independence from British rule in 1947.