Tinubu injects ₦1trn into mining as revenue soars sixfold

President Bola Tinubu has announced a historic ₦1 trillion investment in Nigeria’s mining sector, marking the single largest funding intervention in the industry’s history.

Speaking at the 10th edition of the Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja, the President said the funds, sourced from a ₦4.5 trillion increase in the 2025 national budget, will be used to finance geoscientific exploration, detailed geological mapping, and critical infrastructure across mineral-rich regions to boost local value addition.

“This is the single largest investment ever made in Nigeria’s mining industry,” Tinubu declared. “We are determined to turn the wealth beneath our feet into prosperity in our hands.”

He revealed that the sector’s revenue has surged from ₦6 billion in 2023 to ₦38 billion in 2024, representing a sixfold increase driven by improved policy coordination, oversight, and transparency. “We must never again allow the fate of our economy to depend on one resource,” he said. “Mining must now stand alongside oil as a pillar of national growth.”

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, described the solid minerals sector as Nigeria’s next major job-creating industry, emphasizing that bold leadership rather than new policy frameworks will determine its success. “What we lack is not policy but courageous minds like President Tinubu’s to implement them,” he said.

Alake noted that under his watch, the ministry has recorded a 4.6% rise in revenue and gained recognition as one of the most transparent government institutions. “Business is no longer as usual. We must take policy implementation seriously if we want real progress. Local value chains must be strengthened, and our natural resources treated as national treasures,” he added, pledging that the ministry will keep pushing until mining becomes the “economic pilot” of the nation.

Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, reaffirmed that reviving Nigeria’s steel industry is central to President Tinubu’s industrialisation agenda. “The steel industry is the backbone of national development. Once revived, it will power manufacturing, infrastructure, and job creation,” Audu said, adding that new public-private partnerships are being structured to reactivate dormant steel plants and link mining to industrial output.

President of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dele Ayanleke, applauded the administration’s reforms and transparency drive, describing Nigeria Mining Week as a major policy-shaping platform that has evolved significantly over the past decade. “As we look ahead, the challenges we face—from illegal mining to infrastructure gaps—must become stepping stones for progress. Together, we can transform mining into a cornerstone of Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy by 2030,” he said.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Faruk Yabo, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to a technology-driven, transparent, and investor-friendly mining sector in line with global standards and sustainability goals.

Event Director of Nigeria Mining Week and representative of VUKA Group, Samukelo Madlabane, welcomed over 3,500 delegates to the 10th-anniversary edition of the event, describing it as “a celebration of a decade of dedication, dialogue, and development.” He said the theme, “Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance,” reflects the country’s journey from building policy foundations to positioning itself as a competitive global mining destination.

“This is more than just an annual gathering; it marks ten years of building enduring partnerships between government, investors, and operators,” Madlabane noted. He highlighted the introduction of new platforms such as the KMDC Deal Room, CEO Roundtable, Nigeria Steel Forum, Nigeria Gold Forum, and sessions on gemstones and women in extractive industries as key opportunities to deepen value chains and drive sustainability. “We encourage all participants to connect, collaborate, and forge partnerships that will drive the next decade of growth,” he added.

Now in its 10th year, Nigeria Mining Week—jointly organised by MAN, PwC Nigeria, and VUKA Group, and hosted by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development—has grown into West Africa’s premier investment and policy platform. With President Tinubu’s ₦1 trillion investment and renewed private sector confidence, analysts forecast that the sector could attract over ₦10 trillion in private capital within five years, raising its GDP contribution from less than 1% to as high as 10% by 2030.

As Dr. Alake concluded, “The solid minerals revolution has begun—and this time, business will not be as usual.”