Tinubu Unveils ₦1 Trillion Plan To Power Nigeria’s Mining Revolution
By AUGUSTINA McSOLOMON-OGHAKPERUO
NIGERIA’S solid minerals industry is set for a major transformation as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a ₦1 trillion investment package—the largest in the nation’s history—to position mining as a key pillar of economic diversification.
Delivering the keynote at the 10th Nigeria Mining Week 2025 in Abuja, Tinubu said the fund—drawn from a ₦4.5 trillion budget increase—will finance geological exploration, infrastructure, and local value addition across mineral-rich regions.
“This is the single largest investment ever made in Nigeria’s mining industry,” Tinubu, represented by SGF Senator George Akume, said. “We are determined to turn the wealth beneath our feet into prosperity in our hands.”
He noted that mining revenues surged from ₦6 billion in 2023 to ₦38 billion in 2024, crediting stronger oversight and transparency.
Solid Minerals Minister Dele Alake described mining as Nigeria’s next big job-creating sector, adding that bold leadership is driving long-delayed reforms. “What we lacked was not policy but courageous implementation,” he said, pledging continued action to make mining the “economic pilot” of the nation.
Steel Development Minister Shuaibu Audu reaffirmed that reviving the steel sector is central to Tinubu’s industrialisation agenda, citing new public-private partnerships to restart dormant plants.
Stakeholders, including Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) president Dele Ayanleke, hailed the reforms and called for inclusive growth, while Permanent Secretary Faruk Yabo pledged a transparent, technology-driven sector.
With over 3,500 delegates in attendance, VUKA Group marked the 10th edition of Nigeria Mining Week as a decade of “dedication, dialogue, and development.”
Analysts predict that Tinubu’s ₦1 trillion injection could attract up to ₦10 trillion in private investments within five years, boosting mining’s GDP share from below 1% to as high as 10% by 2030.
As Alake declared, “The solid minerals revolution has begun—and this time, business will not be as usual.”
