Nigeria earned N79.9bn from solid minerals in 2019 — NEITI

Nigeria earned a total of N79.9billion from the solid minerals sector in 2019, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said in its latest audit report.

The report was presented to the Media and Civil Society Organisations by Dr Dieter Bassi, Director, Technical, NEITI on Tuesday in Lagos.

The report showed that the revenue was 13.02 percent higher than the N69.5 billion realised in 2018.

It said the royalties received increased from N1.96 billion in 2018 to N2.50 billion in 2019.

The 2019 report covered 74 entities, an increase from the 69 captured in 2018, while production volume rose to 59.83 million tons in 2019 compared to the 40.7 million tons recorded in 2018.

However, Export Volume production in 2019 was 7.09 million tons, a decrease of 124.75 million tons from the 2018 figure.

The report showed that Limestone, Granite and Laterite were the most produced minerals in 2019 accounting for 55.03 million tons.

Three states, Ogun, Kogi and Cross River accounted for 37.92 million tons with Ogun recording 18.65 million tons; Kogi, 12.77 million tons; and Cross River, 6.50 million tons, respectively.

The report said Dangote Cement Plc contributed 25.40 percent of the Royalties received from the sector with a payment of N635.52 million.

On export of solid minerals, the report showed that 61 companies exported solid minerals in 2019 with China being the principal destination and accounting for 95 percent of the solid minerals exported.

It said the solid minerals sector contributed a total of N368.99 billion, representing 0.26 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was N144.210 trillion in 2019.

The report added that the sector had contributed N917.02 billion to the economy in the last five years.

It, however, observed some challenges in the sector in the period under review such as under payment of royalties and non-payment of taxes by some companies.

The report also identified lack of effective monitoring and supervision and slow pace in development of metallic minerals as causing potential losses in revenue to the government.

Earlier in his remarks, Dr Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary, NEITI, said the mandate of NEITI was to improve transparency and accountability in the extractive industry for the benefit of Nigerians.

Orji noted that though the NEITI Act of 2007 was focused on the oil and gas industry, the agency was now moving toward solid minerals which were abundant in the country.

He said the 2020 report of the solid minerals sector would be released in September, adding that NEITI was being repositioned for efficiency to have its desired impact in the country.