NEWS
Mining Sector Vital to Economic Growth — Osinbajo
By Edozie Obasi-Eze
Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has identified the mining sector as a vital part of the Federal Government’s recent National Development Plan 2021-2025.
In a statement released on Tuesday in Abuja, through his spokesman, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo was said to have made the remark at the opening of the 5th Annual Nigeria Mining Week Discourse Series.
The theme of this year’s discourse is, “Top Seven Reasons to Invest in Nigeria’s Mining Sector.”
Osinbajo said, “It is significant that within the space of a year, we have recorded a 26.7 per cent increase in revenue generation from 2019 to 2020.
“But while this is encouraging, we recognise that there is still a lot of work to be done.
“That is why this forum is so important; we are privileged to have in attendance, so many distinguished experts and resource persons that deeply understand governance vis-à-vis the Mining Sector in Nigeria.”
In his remarks, delivered virtually, Osinbajo highlighted the inflow of notable investments already recorded in the sector.
He averred that the inflow was early evidence that the Federal Government’s framework was on the right track.
“These investments include Thor Exploration Limited’s Segilola Gold Mine in Osun State, with an initial production capacity of 80,000 ounces of gold annually, representing the first large-scale gold mine in Nigeria.
“In June last year, I also had the privilege of commissioning the Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refinery (DGPMR) Project.
“The company set out to be a foremost indigenous refiner and trader of gold and other precious metals. Its potential impact on the gold sector is nothing short of revolutionary.
“By providing offtake opportunities through the establishment of Precious Metals Buying Centres, it serves as a spur for more small and medium scale mining investment.
“Its refinery symbolizes its focus on value addition in the gold and precious metals industry in Nigeria and West Africa.
“A similarly remarkable investment is the integrated Iron Ore Mining and Processing Plant set up by African Natural Resources and Mines Limited (ANRML) in Kaduna.
“It has an initial production capacity of 4.704 million tons of iron per annum and will scale up to 5.88 million tons per annum.”
He said that Nigeria was revitalising the mining sector with lessons learned from half a century of resource extraction.
According to him, the Federal Government recognises that it is not enough to seek investment merely for the sake of exploitation and extraction.
He maintained that the mining sector could help rewrite a new chapter of economic growth for Nigeria.
“Concurrently, there is an ongoing review of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007, aimed at bringing legislation into conformity with global best practices, limiting the role of government to that of regulation, and creating the space for the private sector to maintain a more expansive presence in the sector.
“What will be evident to a potential investor is that we have built a robust framework for the mining sector, line by line.
“In 2016, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, produced a clear Roadmap for the growth and development of the Nigerian Mining Sector Industry.
“In pursuit of the goals set forth in the roadmap, government initiated an ambitious reform regime in the sector, the flagship of which is the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Programme (NIMEP).”
Biztellers reports that the Nigeria Mining Week, organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) in collaboration with the private sector and supported by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.
In what political watchers perceive as part of efforts to discomfit and scatter the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the feeling that its National Working Committee (NWC) antagonises him, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has revoked the rights to occupy the land on which the party’s national secretariat, Abuja is sited.
Biztelers reports that Wike’s revocation notice was conveyed in a letter released in Abuja on Tuesday, dated March 13, 2025.
The letter was titled, “Notice of right of occupancy with file no: MISC 81346 in respect of plot no: 243 within central area district, Abuja.”
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The letter was signed by the Director, Land Administration (FTC), Chijioke Nwankwoeze.
Wike, it was gathered predicated his action on the PDP’s failure to pay the annual ground rents due on the property for twenty (20) years, from January 1, 2006, to January 1, 2025.
The negligence on the part of the opposition party, the letter claimed was despite many publications in several national dailies and electronic media to pay up every outstanding bill and ground rent on its property.
The letter read, “I have been directed to refer to the above Right of Occupancy granted to PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP), NATIONAL SECRETARIAT and inform you that the Minister of Federal Capital Territory has in the exercise of powers conferred on him under the Land Use Act No. 6 of 1978, Cap. L5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, revoked your rights, interests and privileges over Plot No. 243 within Central Area, Cadastral Zone A00, Abuja.
“The revocation is in view of your continued contravention of the terms and conditions of grant of the Right of Occupancy by failing to pay the annual ground rents due on the property for twenty (20) years, from Ist of January 2006 to 1st of January 2025. This is despite the many publications made by the FCT Administration since 2023 in several national dailies and on electronic media requesting all allottees of plots in the Federal Capital Territory to pay up every outstanding bill and ground rent on their property.
“You would please note that the said breaches by PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP), NATIONAL SECRETARIAT (MISC 81346) run contrary to the provisions of Section 28, Subsection 5 (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act.”
There are palpable fears that the PDP’s national secretariat might be demolished or vandalised, sooner than later because Wike added that the FCTA administration would take immediate possession of the party secretariat until all bills are settled.
A massive explosion has rocked the Trans-Niger Pipeline at Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, sending plumes of fire and smoke into the sky.
The incident, which occurred on Monday night, has left a section of the major crude oil transport pipeline in flames, though the exact cause of the explosion remains unknown.
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Authorities have yet to determine whether the explosion was due to sabotage, equipment failure, or other factors.
However, concerns have been raised over possible human interference, particularly in light of recent threats by militant groups to attack oil infrastructure.
The threats were issued as a response to the Federal Government’s decision to withhold Rivers State’s allocation amid the ongoing political crisis in the region.
More to follow………
With the commencement of the rainy season, the Osun State Government has issued modalities for the operations of tractors across farmlands in Osun State.
The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon Tola Faseru, according to a government house statement on Monday in Osogbo, confirmed the development.
Faseru said interested farmers should reach out to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry or the General Manager of Osun State Agricultural Development Corporation (OSSADEC) through virtual or physical applications.
He noted that the government was subsidizing the operational rate per acre to lower the cost of farm operations, explaining further that the tractors will be domiciled at the OSSADEC farm centre located across the state.
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Faseru pointed out that some of the tractors were already in operation in some farmlands, and noted that the ministry was working to set up technical centres at designated locations for maintenance of the tractors.
He narrated further that tractor drivers are being assembled, trained and retrained for seamless operation even as he explained that the administration adopted a public private partnership approach for the management of the tractors.
“We are happy to inform the public that the tractors are out for the rainy season. We are conscious of the question of sustainability, hence the careful approach to inject private sector practices.
“In 14 or so years, this is the first time Osun is having new fleet of tractors. We have learnt from what caused the failure of the past efforts. We won’t repeat the same mistakes.
“We know we are not there yet. But Governor Adeleke has blazed the trail by procuring the first set of tractors. We innovated also because of ongoing issues at the local government level.
“We don’t want it to be managed in unsustainable manner. Hence, Mr Governor insisted the tractors be managed like a business although with public subsidy”, the Commissioner posited.
He stated that the ministry is reaching out to stakeholders among the farming community to ensure accelerated access for users within the state.
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