Economy
Mining: FG Hires 100 Experts to Boost Earnings
By Dipo Olowookere
No fewer than 100 revenue consultants have been engaged by the Federal Government to help boost earnings from the mining sector of the country’s economy.
The experts are expected to help the government block leakages in the revenue accrued from the industry, which is still largely untapped in the country.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Kayode Fayemi, explained that the consultants would be deployed to the six geo-political zones of Nigeria in the coming week are to examine financial and production records of companies involved in mining activities in the last six years.
After this, they will determine whether appropriate royalties were remitted to government by these firms.
Mr Fayemi, speaking at the three-day induction and training for the Revenue Consultants in Abuja on Monday, noted that the main target of the ministry was to ensure that the Federation Account gets its fair due in royalties and taxes.
According to the Minister, the project, tagged ‘Revenue Optimization and Verification Project,’ would assist in blocking leakages in the mining sector, thereby positioning the sector to achieve its set agenda of contributing significantly to the GDP.
The Minister noted that the consultants, who have already been grouped into all the 36 states in the six geopolitical zones of the country, are to commence work after the training programme.
He said, “Our expectation of this project is that the Ministry would emerge as a lead revenue agency for the Federal Government of Nigeria, in line with the growth projections of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which recognizes the mining sector as one of Nigeria’s most promising growth sectors, and acknowledges that its contribution to GDP doubled from N52 billion in 2010 to N103 billion in 2015.
“The ERGP further projects that revenue the mining sector would grow from N103 billion (2015) to N141 billion (2020) at an average annual growth rate of 8.54 per cent (2017-2020).”
Mr Fayemi said he was optimistic that the ministry would surpass these targets, as all stakeholders work collaboratively to ensure the success of the R.O.V. Project, resulting in improved levels of voluntary compliance of operators.
The Minister admitted that leakages in government revenue was a big challenge in the mining sector, a development, which he said the ministry was determined to redress with the ROV Project, following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
He said, “The R.O.V Project is an initiative of our ministry, pursuant of one of our core mandates, which is to significantly increase the contribution of the Mining Sector to our sovereign revenue.
“Indeed, leakages in government revenue remain a big challenge in the sector, which we are working collaboratively with other government entities and sector stakeholders to fix. We have given considerable thought to this challenge and come up with a number of strategies to tackle it, one of which we are witnessing its launch today.
“I am therefore pleased to announce that following the approval of the National Economic Council (NEC), we are today inaugurating a new model of revenue generation and collection in the mining sector. This entails the engagement of Professional Revenue Consultants who would work with our ministry’s mining officers to identify revenue leakages in the system.
“The Revenue Optimization and Verification Project essentially seeks to confirm the adequacy of royalties’ remittances made by the various operators in the mining industry. They are mandated to collect and analyse data from 2012 – 2017 in the course of their work, thus giving us the opportunity to demand and receive accruals due to government from the referenced period.
“It would also ensure compliance of all operators to paying the correct amount in royalties to the government coffers going forward.”
The Minister said the exercise will be carried out in line with the provisions of Section 17 of the Nigeria Mineral and Mining Act of 2007 which empowers the Mining Inspectorate Division of the Ministry to supervise and enforce compliance of laws and also section 43 of the Nigeria Mineral and Mining Act of 2007 which mandates mining operators to keep and supply records upon request by the ministry.
Speaking further, the Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Muazu Abdullahi, said the project was not designed to witch hunt anybody, even as he warned the consultants to avoid any shady deals.
“This is not a witch hunting initiative, but the exercise of the statutory responsibility of the Ministry to determine the adequacy of remittances made by the various operators in the mining industry,” he said.
Mr Fayemi added that, “The image and reputation of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, and indeed the entire Federal Government of Nigeria is key during this Revenue Optimization and Verification Project; therefore, we charge all consultants to stand for what this government stands for by avoiding any form of compromise, illegality and unprofessional conduct.
The Project Coordinator, Mr Makinde Araoye, said the projects is at no cost to the Ministry as the National Economic Council approval stated that consultants and the ministry take a certain percentage of whatever is recovered.
“NEC approved 15 per cent as cost of collection, out of the 15 per cent. The consultant will be paid a certain percentage of what they recover, the lead consultant will be paid a certain percentage of what they recover and the Ministry will also retain certain percentage as cost of collection”, he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The ban on the export of raw shea nuts from Nigeria has been extended by one year by President Bola Tinubu.
A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday disclosed that the ban is now till February 25, 2027.
It was emphasised that this decision underscores the administration’s commitment to advancing industrial development, strengthening domestic value addition, and supporting the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The ban aims to deepen processing capacity within Nigeria, enhance livelihoods in shea-producing communities, and promote the growth of Nigerian exports anchored on value-added products, the statement noted.
To further these objectives, President Tinubu has authorised the two Ministers of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Presidential Food Security Coordination Unit (PFSCU), to coordinate the implementation of a unified, evidence-based national framework that aligns industrialisation, trade, and investment priorities across the shea nut value chain.
He also approved the adoption of an export framework established by the Nigerian Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the withdrawal of all waivers allowing the direct export of raw shea nuts.
The President directed that any excess supply of raw shea nuts should be exported exclusively through the NCX framework, in accordance with the approved guidelines.
Additionally, he directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide access to a dedicated NESS Support Window to enable the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to pilot a Livelihood Finance Mechanism to strengthen production and processing capacity.
Shea nuts, the oil-rich fruits from the shea tree common in the Savanna belt of Nigeria, are the raw material for shea butter, renowned for its moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The extracted butter is a principal ingredient in cosmetics for skin and hair, as well as in edible cooking oil. The Federal Government encourages processing shea nuts into butter locally, as butter fetches between 10 and 20 times the price of the raw nuts.
The federal government said it remains committed to policies that promote inclusive growth, local manufacturing and position Nigeria as a competitive participant in global agricultural value chains.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded for the first session this week by 1.27 per cent on Wednesday, February 25.
This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) above 4,000 points, with a 50.45-point addition to close at 4,025.25 points compared with the previous day’s 3,974.80 points, as the market capitalisation added N30.19 billion to close at N2.408 trillion versus Tuesday’s N2.378 trillion.
At the trading session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N5.00 to trade at N100.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N95.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N4.18 to sell at N70.00 per unit versus N65.82 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 14 Kobo to trade at N1.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.45 per share.
However, the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 27 Kobo at midweek to close at N3.27 per unit, in contrast to the N3.30 per unit it was transacted a day earlier.
At the midweek session, the volume of securities went down by 25.3 per cent to 8.7 million units from 11.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 92.5 per cent to N80.7 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals slipped by 33.3 per cent to 32 deals from the preceding session’s 48 deals.
At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 34.1 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units valued at N478.0 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units valued at N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units sold for N478.0 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.1 million units worth N2.0 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.
At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.
However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.
Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.
Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.
Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.
Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.
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