It is no coincidence that revenues from solid minerals have increased significantly since the advent of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
From a modest N16bn generated from the sector in 2023, it grew to N38bn in 2024 and is now set to cross the N70bn mark under the brilliant leadership of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake.
Since taking office, Alake has redirected global attention towards the country's mining sector in a quite unprecedented manner. Armed with the now famous 7-point agenda, he started with reforms that included canceling 1,633 licenses for default in payment of annual service charges at the end of 2023, while another 924 dormant licenses were canceled at the beginning of 2024 to free up space for serious investors.
Guidelines for Community Development Agreements (CDAs) were also revised to make the consent of host communities an integral part of the license application process, while the elephant in the room – illegal mining – is being tackled with the establishment of mining marshals in 2024. Exactly one year later, more than 300 illegal miners have been caught, about 150 are being prosecuted and 98 illegal mining sites have been recovered. Nationwide satellite monitoring of mining sites is planned to be operational in 2026 to increase the capacity of marshals.
Although mining belongs to the specific legislative list, the Minister creatively introduced the principle of cooperative federalism to encourage states to apply for mining licenses and operate as limited liability companies. This has yielded tremendous results, as many states now have joint venture (JV) partnerships, which have yielded many investments in Nasarawa, Kaduna, Abuja, Oyo and others.
Today, lithium factories are booming, a $400 million rare earth metals plant is under construction, and it is estimated to have attracted nearly $1.5 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the region by 2023.
On the global stage, Alake's advocacy for local value addition – a key component of his 7-point agenda which seeks to mandate some form of processing or refining of minerals before export – has attracted continental attention, leading to the establishment of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG).
AMSG, the Association of African Solid Minerals/Mining Ministers, unanimously elected Dr. Alake as Leading Chair – a testament to how his vision has thrilled his colleagues and positioned Nigeria as a leader in the renaissance of the continent's mining sector.
To increase the ease of doing business in the sector, the Nigeria Minerals Decision Support System (NMRDSS) – a web-based platform – was established to attract investment and serve as a repository of information on geological and geo-economic data on Nigeria's mineral resources, including interactive mapping, geological data, infrastructure descriptions and others.
I can go on and on; Therefore, it is no surprise that we are set to cross the N70bn mark in 2025. Although unprecedented, given the huge potential of the mining sector, this is still a drop in the ocean.
We will surpass this record again in 2026 by strengthening reforms to ensure that solid minerals ultimately become a major contributor to our country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
happy new year!
Segun Tomori, ANIPR, FSCA; Special Assistant on Media to the Honorable Minister of Solid Mineral Development
