The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, known as NEITI, shared some exciting news! They told us how Nigeria’s solid minerals have given a big amount of money, N1.137 trillion, to the country’s government—from 2007 to 2023. This money helped the federal, state, and local governments.
NEITI shared this news during a special meeting in Abuja, where they talked about their 2023 Solid Minerals Audit Report. This meeting was important because it was the 16th time they checked on the minerals.
During the presentation, the leader of NEITI said this report is like a mirror. It shows how minerals help Nigeria make money.
The leader noted that from N7.59 billion in 2007, money from minerals grew a lot, reaching N341.27 billion in 2022. This shows that the minerals are becoming more and more important for Nigeria’s money-making.
“You can see from this report how big the minerals’ footprint is in Nigeria’s economy,” said NEITI’s leader.
A company called Haruna Yahaya and Co. helped check the minerals’ money and how minerals are used and sold.
Sector Growth
The report tells us that money from minerals keeps growing and growing! Nigeria’s government already got over ₦1 trillion from them.
- In 2022, minerals made N345.41 billion, and after counting everything, they reached N329.92 billion. This growth shows how minerals become very important for Nigeria’s money.
- “In 2023, the minerals’ money, when counted in different ways, reached N401.87 billion,” the report shared.
- This big amount of money came from things like VAT (N128.32 billion), taxes (N370.09 billion), Education Tax (38.64%), Company Income Tax (10.64%), and something called royalties, making N9.06 billion.
- In 2023, Nigeria produced a lot—95.07 million tonnes of minerals! Out of those, 4.32 million tonnes were sold to other places, making N117.29 billion.
- The report also said Ogun, Kogi, and Rivers are the states making the most minerals. Ogun is the best at making a large amount, and Osun, Ogun, and Kogi states made sure more money came from these minerals.
NEITI also wants everyone to know they care a lot about being open and honest about money. They found some mistakes in how much money companies said they gave, changing it from ₦301.6 billion to just ₦100 million. This shows NEITI’s strong will in making sure everything is fair in the minerals world.
Contribution to GDP
NEITI’s report also explained that in 2022, minerals were 0.83% of all the money Nigeria makes, called GDP. This got a little smaller in 2023, going down to 0.75%.
- NEITI says this small piece means there’s a lot more that minerals can do for Nigeria if they use them the right way.
- The report suggests we should make new rules to unlock all the minerals’ secrets. This way, they could help Nigeria have even more different ways to make money.
- NEITI said, “The minerals hold hidden fortune that could help Nigeria become even stronger with the right moves.”
The report reminds everyone how important it is to have good rule-making and smart changes so Nigeria can get even more benefit from its minerals.