Following the revelation that capital releases to the sector for 2025 were zero, the National Assembly on Monday moved to grant the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development first-line charge status. Development MPs saw this as a significant blow to Nigeria’s economic diversification program.
Members of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Solid Minerals Development voiced concern during a budget defense session in Abuja that, in spite of massive appropriations, the ministry did not receive any capital disbursement in 2025 and that, as of January 31, 2026, only 50% of its overhead allocation had been released.
Mr. Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, informed lawmakers that vital infrastructure, exploration, and sector development projects had been put on hold since N865.06 billion allocated for capital expenditures in the 2025 budget year had not been released.
He cautioned that the solid minerals sector will continue to be constrained by treasury delays and deficits in the absence of guaranteed funding through first-line charge status, where statutory amounts are automatically disbursed from the Federation Account like priority sectors.
“This is the most critical issue because inconsistent releases were undermining efforts to reposition mining as a key driver of economic growth, job creation, and foreign investment,” stated Alake.
According to MPs, granting the ministry first-line charge status would protect its budget from administrative snags and provide steady funding, which is essential if Nigeria is to realize the enormous potential of its mineral resources.
The zero capital release, according to Senator Ekong Sampson, chairman of the Joint Committee, is “worrisome” and essentially contradicts the optimistic projections included in the national budget.
“With zero percent release, how do you drive the harvest of the sector’s full potential?” Sampson asked.
Although he acknowledged that prior initiatives, such as a N1 trillion investment in the sector, had increased investor and industry expectations, he cautioned that “the budget framework is rendered quite unattractive” in the absence of real financial support.
Like the petroleum industry, solid minerals should have first-line charge protection, according to several senators who supported the call for immediate funding structure reform.
Perhaps we could attempt to make it a first-line charge, similar to the oil industry. Because we cannot simply appropriate numbers without making payment. How can the mining industry be developed? A participant inquired.
In response, Alake praised the plan, calling it “sweet music,” and asked the National Assembly to support the arrangement with legislation.
It becomes feasible if legislation is passed. In order to guarantee delivery, we will then put on our executive machinery,” he stated.
Alake revealed that the ministry and its agencies have capital, overhead, and staff ceilings of N165.34 billion for the fiscal year when he presented the ministry’s 2026 budget proposal.
A total of N48.9 billion was planned for the main ministry, with the remaining amount going to its agencies. This amount included N1.79 billion for personnel costs, N1.57 billion for overhead, and N45.54 billion for capital expenditures.
The 2026 proposal, according to him, represents a strategic shift away from “planning and potential” and toward “execution, production, and revenue generation.”
He claims that the N156.34 billion sectors expenditure is an essential investment meant to unleash the potential of solid minerals to diversify the country’s economy, generate employment, and greatly increase GDP.
According to the minister, the suggested allocation places a high priority on digital technologies, logistics, and surveillance in order to reduce illicit mining, enhance revenue collection, and establish a stable environment for prudent investment.
Alake revealed that, in spite of financial limitations, the ministry generated N30.23 billion as of December 31, 2025, 80% more than its 2025 income objective.
Reforms that formalized artisanal miners into corporations and cooperatives, improving their access to capital and regulatory compliance, were credited by him with the better revenue performance.
In order to prevent them from being classified as illegal miners, we were able to persuade them to establish corporations, he stated.
“They will be formalized, draw funding, and give the government the ability to demand and collect taxes, royalties, and other civic duties.”
The minister also mentioned that four high-risk abandoned mining sites were reclaimed, artisanal miners were trained, and 388 mineral buying centers were built during the reviewed year.
Additionally, he emphasized how the ministry’s enterprise content management system expansion fueled digitization efforts and made it the most digitized ministry in the nation over the previous 12 months.
According to Alake, Nigeria’s enhanced geological data collection has put the nation on the map of mining destinations worldwide and attracted a lot of attention from investors.
He mentioned how Nigeria’s display booth at the recent African mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa, apparently attracted a lot of interest from foreign investors.
“We are on par with mining behemoths around the world thanks to the accumulation of geological data that has been properly verified. Nigeria is now well-known thanks to the little we have done,” he remarked.
However, the MPs insisted that it could be challenging to consolidate such advances in the absence of consistent and regular support.
They gave the minister their word that the committee will look at the first-line charge status proposal and investigate legislative options to improve the sector’s funding structure.
In addition to ensuring financial stability, they contend that providing solid minerals priority funding will demonstrate to international investors Nigeria’s dedication to developing a respectable and competitive mining sector.
“You get more results if you invest more. The revenue profile has significantly improved. It demonstrates unequivocally that you would have accomplished far more if you had more,” Sampson added.
The committee promised to collaborate with the executive branch to create policies that would guarantee the industry produces what legislators referred to as “huge harvests” for the national economy.
