By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government says Nigeria’s solid minerals sector has attracted about $3 billion in investments over the past three years, driven by interests in lithium, gold and other strategic minerals.

The disclosure was made recently during a press briefing ahead of the 5th African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS), scheduled to hold from June 23 to 25, 2026, at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, noting that the investments are being supported by policy changes introduced under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aimed at repositioning the mining sector as a major contributor to economic diversification.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, who was represented at the briefing by the chief executive of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, Mr Martins Imonitie, said the inflow of $3 billion within three years was significant, given the capital-intensive and long development cycles typical of mining projects globally.

According to him, mineral development requires extensive geological studies, financing arrangements, and offtake agreements, meaning investment decisions are rarely immediate and often take years to materialise.

“For Nigeria to attract about $3bn in investments within this period is unprecedented and demonstrates growing confidence in the direction of reforms in the sector,” he said.

He noted that mining projects can take between 15 and 20 years to reach full commercial maturity, stressing that the sector demands long-term capital commitment rather than short-term returns.

“These investments cut across lithium, gold and several other minerals. More importantly, they signal what lies ahead for the sector in terms of sustained growth and global investor interest,” he added.

Mr Alake said the forthcoming AFNIS 2026 would focus on repositioning Africa from a raw materials exporter to a value-added industrial hub capable of driving job creation, technology transfer and inclusive growth.

He noted that Africa’s natural resource base must be leveraged not only for exports but for domestic industrialisation and long-term economic transformation.

“The significance of AFNIS 2026 goes beyond its fifth edition. It comes at a defining moment for Africa, as global demand for critical minerals continues to rise amid the energy transition,” he said.

He added that the summit’s theme, “One Africa, One Resource Vision,” reflects the need for stronger regional cooperation in developing mineral resources, energy infrastructure and integrated value chains.

According to him, isolated national approaches are no longer sufficient, given the scale of global demand and the need for competitive positioning in supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements.

Mr Alake also disclosed that the 2026 edition would place greater emphasis on implementation, with structured investment sessions, sovereign meetings, project financing discussions and deal-oriented engagements.

“The objective is clear: participants should leave Abuja with concrete partnerships, investment commitments and actionable projects that translate into jobs and economic growth,” he said.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A final dividend of N23 has been proposed by the board of Aradel Holdings Plc for payment to shareholders of the company for the 2025 financial year, bringing the total dividend to N33 after an interim dividend of N10 earlier in the year.

The energy firm declared the cash reward after growing its revenue for the year by 20 per cent to N699.4 billion, driven by improvement across all business segments.

It was observed that crude oil remained the dominant revenue stream, with exports increasing by 18 per cent to N440.1 billion and contributing 63 per cent of total revenue, supported by higher production volumes and reliable evacuation via TNP and ACE.

Refined products revenue rose by 18 per cent to N210.8 billion, representing 30 per cent of total revenue, buoyed by a 26 per cent rise in sales volume to 302.9 million litres compared with the 240.5 million litres achieved in the 2024 fiscal year. Gas revenues rose by 72 per cent to N48.6 billion, accounting for 7 per cent of total revenue, driven by higher production volumes despite lower realised gas prices.

Business Post reports that Aradel posted a profit before tax of N835.0 billion compared with N316.8 billion reported a year earlier, representing a 164 per cent surge, while the profit after tax expanded by 192 per cent to N757.3 billion from N259.1 billion as a result of higher underlying earnings, the non-recurring gains arising from the consolidation, and improved tax efficiency.

In the year, the organisation maintained a healthy cash position, supported by strong operating cash flow and disciplined working capital management. Net cash from operating activities moderated to N179.7 billion from N311.9 billion in FY 2024, reflecting the timing of cash settlements and working capital movements.

Commenting on the results, the chief executive of Aradel, Mr Adegbite Falade, said, “2025 was a defining year as we continued to strengthen our position as an integrated energy operating platform. We delivered record revenue and profitability, while executing the most transformational strategic expansion in our history.

“Our additional 40 per cent investment in ND Western and the resultant increase in our total effective interest in Renaissance (53.3 per cent) significantly expanded our reserves, production base and operational footprint, positioning Aradel to operate at materially greater scale from 2026 onwards.

“The consolidation of NDW and Renaissance fundamentally reset the scale of the company’s balance sheet, giving us the asset and reserve base to underpin our future expansion.

“Our 2025 audited accounts, therefore, capture the balance-sheet impact of these acquisitions; their full earnings contribution will be reflected in the Group’s consolidated financial results from 2026 onwards.”

“Looking ahead, our focus in 2026 is on consolidating our expanded portfolio to enhance operational scale, improve efficiency across our assets, increase production and further diversify our revenue base anchored on our long-term ambition to grow the group’s production to support sustainable, long-term shareholder value,” he added.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was down by 2.48 per cent on Friday, June 19, with the Unlisted Security Index shedding 108.36 points to close at 4,252.73 points compared with the previous day’s 4,361.09 points.

During the trading day, the market capitalisation of the OTC securities exchange dropped 2.18 per cent or N67.29 billion to settle at N2.552 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s N2.609 trillion.

The alternative stock market was in the red yesterday after finishing with three price losers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N8.57 to trade at N77.77 per share versus the preceding day’s N86.34. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N8.19 to quote at N170.00 per unit compared with the previous session’s N178.19 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc crashed by 26 Kobo to end at N2.51 per share versus N2.77 per share.

Business Post reports that there were also three price gainers during the session, led by Golden Capital Plc, which chalked up 67 Kobo to sell at N13.67 per unit versus N13.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc gained 65 Kobo to trade at N16.85 per share compared with the previous price of N16.20 per share, and MRS Oil added 3 Kobo to close at N142.23 per unit versus N142.00 per unit.

The volume of trades was up by 20.3 per cent on Friday to 954,106 units from 792,835 units, and the number of deals increased by 75 per cent to 35 deals from 20 deals, while the value of transactions went down by 12.9 per cent to N42.7 million from N49.0 million.

The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 67.8 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.