Article Summary
- The Nigerian Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) reports that Nigeria earned only $1.4 billion from the solid minerals sector over a span of 13 years.
- NEITI has launched a strategic plan for 2022–2026 aimed at promoting investments, transparency, and capacity building in the solid minerals sector.
- Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, believes that the solid minerals sector has been neglected for too long and has the potential to contribute over 60% to Nigeria’s GDP if properly invested in.
The Nigerian Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said that Nigeria made only $1.4 billion from solid minerals in 13 years. Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, said this during his speech at the launch of the initiative’s 2022–2026 Strategic Plan in Abuja earlier this week.
The strategic plan is a direct response to the issues of the global energy transition, contract transparency, and government partnerships. Under the strategic plan, there are three major objectives, which are:
- Enhancing extractive sector governance reforms through policy research, strategic stakeholder engagement, communication, and inter-agency collaboration
- Maintaining extractive reporting and relevance by prioritizing national and international priorities
- Achieving operational excellence in implementing the NEITI mandate through professionalism, innovation, the use of technology, resource management, and capacity building.
According to Dr. Orji, the solid minerals sector has huge potential and could become an important contributor to Nigeria’s GDP. Dr. Orji said:
- “Our projection is that if the solid mineral sector is thrown open for investment, it has the potential to contribute over 60% to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). At 60% of Nigeria’s GDP, that would mean outperforming oil.”
This is our target. We have done an extensive scoping study and seen the potential of the solid minerals sector.
- “So far, NEITI has conducted and published eleven (11) cycles of audits in the solid minerals sector, spanning the years 2007 – 2020. From the NEITI reports, a total of N624.1 billion was recorded as revenue that has accrued to the government from the sector over a 13-year period, which in today’s exchange rate amounts to about $1.4 billion compared to the enormous $394 billion earned in the oil and gas sector in just 10 years.
- “This shows negligence to the enormous potential in the solid minerals sector. NEITI, in line with its mandate, encourages disclosures of payments accrued to the government to build trust among the stakeholders and promote transparency and accountability in the management of solid mineral resources.”
What you should know
In November 2022, the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) noted that Nigeria’s solid minerals sector lacks appropriate data. According to EITI’s Mission Critical report, Nigeria’s solid mineral sector is characterized by artisanal mining.
- It stated further that the lack of data discourages investors. Meanwhile, the availability of comprehensive and public geological data determines the ability of resource-rich countries to attract responsible investors and negotiate favorable terms for the country and its people.
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