No proper records of solid minerals revenue

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NIETI) has said that tracking the country’s revenues from exported solid minerals is poorly done.

The Acting Executive Secretary, NEITI, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji said during the International Anti-corruption Day celebration in Abuja on Wednesday. that there is an improper coordination between Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other related government agencies.

He also added that the concerned government agencies have no records of any royalty or payments from the export of solid minerals out of Nigeria despite the continued mining and smuggling of the natural resources across the country.

Orji stressed the immediate need to check the smuggling of minerals like gold and barites out of the country.

He said, “I wish to use this opportunity to call for urgent attention to the solid minerals sector. The scoping study of the sector conducted by NEITI revealed that there are abundant solid minerals in commercial quantities across all states of the federation.”

“However, the report observed that there is poor synergy between various government agencies such as the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Export Promotion Council and the Cadastral Office on tracking and keeping of records on exported solid minerals.

“It noted that despite the fact that gold and barites were being mined across the nation, there were no records of any royalty or similar payments made to this effect” he observed.

Orji finally said that the activities of the foreign nationals operating in the solid minerals sectors should be carefully watched and regulated according to the best practices of the nation.

He also stressed the need of setting up strategic check points all over the country to prevent the smuggling of the solid minerals.

Solid minerals industry in Nigeria contributes less than 1% of the country’s GDP as the Government always focus on crude oil and petroleum markets. Thus, the financial records of these minerals are poorly maintained.

There is a wide range criticism that Government is neglecting the vast potential of the solid minerals. Coal, Lignite, coke, Gold, Barites, Iron ore and Uranium are the major solid minerals present in Nigeria.