The Nigerian government has been urged to draw lessons from petroleum sector for development of solid minerals while diversifying the national economy, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported on Wednesday.

Bright Okogu, acting executive secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Initiative (NEITI), was quoted as saying that both oil and solid minerals sectors of the economy lacked credibility until the recent reforms.

"They both lacked transparency in their modes of operation, there was too much discretion in the award of licenses in both sectors," he said, adding that capacity was weak on the part of government agencies charged with oversight of both sectors.

Speaking at a civil society meeting on the potential of solid minerals on Tuesday in Jos, the capital of Nigeria's northern state of Plateau, Okogu said oil sector had recorded a higher profile of bad business.

He listed the audit of the oil sector since 1999, the transparent award of oil blocs and the engagement of key stakeholders as some of the strategies put in place to rectify the situation.

"The heavy dependence on oil and gas underscores the need for diversification of the economy, including the development of alternative sectors like the solid minerals," he said.

He said that the extractive industry had the potential of creating more jobs than the oil, noting that it could also help douse the current tension caused by petroleum resources as a mono- economy resource.

"Politically, if all states have something to contribute to the national treasury, the clamor for resource control will be less vociferous and everyone will be eager to support the call for better environmental management," he said.

The NEITI boss said until the recent government reform program, the mining sector had been characterized by uncoordinated policy on holding of leases and mining rights.

However, he argued that the Solid Minerals Act of 1969 which gave the minister discretion over the issuance of licenses and mining rights needed to be reviewed to make the management of the sector more transparent.

Source: Xinhua