Abuja, April 25, 2024 – Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has advised Australian investors to consider Nigeria as their investment destination.
He said Nigeria was becoming a mining investment destination of choice in view of incentives and policies designed to promote ease of doing business in the sector.
Segun Tomori, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister, said Alake made the call in his address at a Nigeria-Autralia Investment Roundtable.
Alake urged the investors to consider Nigeria highly as their investment destination, especially with the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to removing impediments to the ease of doing business.
“Australians seeking to expand their mining portfolio to Africa should prioritise Nigeria in view of our positive investment friendly policies and ongoing rapid transformation.
“Many of the heavy equipment imported for mining can be evaluated to qualify for tax waivers and exemption from import duties.
“Nigeria also has a favourable funds and capital repatriation policy that ensures investors’ funds are not trapped”, he said.
According to the minister, plans have reached an advance stage for the establishment of a private sector-led Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.
He said that the corporation was poised for joint ventures with investors on critical minerals such as Lithium, Gold, Baryte, Lead, and Iron-ore.
The minister said the federal government had established a 2,220-man Mining Marshal Corps to combat illegal mining and insecurity around mining areas.
He said that out of them, a 60-man rapid response squad has been specially trained and deployed across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Illegal mining is not just unlicensed mining. It covers licensed miners operating with invalid licenses or licensed miners operating outside their coordinates or mining minerals not approved in their licenses.
“The specialised mining marshals have in the little time of operations, discouraged illegal mining, brought relief to recognised miners, and are clamping down on those involved in nefarious activities around mining areas across the country,” he said.
The minister said 1,633 titles were revoked in 2023 due to default in payment of annual service fees, and punitive measures have been extended to other categories of defaulters.
He said the action was aimed at tackling indiscriminate speculation, licence racketeering, and the menace of those who obtained licences over the years, but have refused to move to site. (GBN)
