Economy
Nigeria Generates N814.59bn from Solid Minerals in 14 Years
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria generated N814.59 billion between 2007 and 2021 from the solid minerals sector, with the 2021 earnings of N193.59 billion being the highest in the period under review.
This was disclosed by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its 2021 Solid Minerals Industry Report, tagged Impact Built on Blocking Leakages to Grow Revenue’ unveiled by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume, represented by Mr Maurice Mbaeri, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office.
The report, the 12th in the series, covers actual payments by 1,214 companies operating in the sector and receipts from three key government agencies.
It covers the quantities of minerals produced, utilised and exported from the sector, reconciles the physical/financial transactions and undertakes special verification on some processes.
Presenting the report, Mr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary, NEITI, said the figure showed an increase of N60.32 billion or 51.89 per cent growth compared to the 2020 revenue flows of N116.82 billion.
This positive trend, he said, reflected a continuation of the upward positive trajectory observed in the sector over the past five years.
“This contribution, though a significant increase over past years, is still abysmal considering the potentials of the sector to the Nigerian economy,” he said.
Mr Orji said the 2021 Solid Minerals report reviewed, ascertained, reconciled and reported all revenues and investment flows to and from the government in the solid minerals sector.
He said the NEITI report also covered balances payable/receivable from financial inflows, tracked the funds and utilisation meant for the development of solid minerals in Nigeria.
According to Mr Orji, the funds include the Natural Resources Development Fund, Solid Minerals Development Fund, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development’s MinDiver Programme and Solid Minerals Development Funds under the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme operated through the Bank of Industry.
A breakdown of the revenues showed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service collected N169.52 billion, the Mining Cadastre Office generated N4.3 billion, and the Mining Inspectorate Department generated N3.62 billion.
He said the revenue to the federation accounts from the sector in the past 15 years, which was N818.04 billion, was significantly low compared to the sector’s economic potential.
On Production, Mr Orji said the report disclosed that the total volume of solid minerals used or sold in 2021 was 76.28 million tons with a royalty payment of N3.57 billion.
“The minerals with the largest production volume in the year under review are granite, limestone, laterite, clay and sand.
“Dangote Plc accounted for the highest production with a total production of 28.8 million tons. Bua and Lafarge accounted for 8.4 and 4.3 million tons, while Zeberced accounted for 3.3 million tons, respectively.
“Ogun state recorded the highest production in the year under review, with a total of 17.5 million tons, followed by Kogi state with 16.3 million tons and Edo with 8 million tons.
“The least production volume was recorded in Borno State with 25,500 tons,” he said.
The NEITI boss said a total of 2,045 licenses were issued, with exploration licenses accounting for 840 (an increase of 62.79 per cent), Small Scale Mining Leases at 771, Quarry Lease at 255, Reconnaissance Permit at 139 and Mining leases at 40.
On export, he said the total minerals exported in 2021 was 142.54 million tons with a Free on Board value of $101.29 million, an increase of 138.57 per cent from the $42.46 million reported in the 2020 report.
He said China was identified as the principal destination of Nigeria’s mineral exports, accounting for 97 per cent and 88 per cent of the export volume and value while other destinations for Nigeria’s minerals included Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
On solid minerals’ contribution to the economy, he said the report revealed that the sector contributed 0.63 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while there was an improvement compared to previous years, where it contributed 0.45 per cent in 2020 and 0.26 per cent in 2019.
According to him, the sector has not yet reached its full potential in making a significant impact on the overall Nigerian economy.
He identified a total of N1.06 billion as outstanding company liability to the government within the period under review as a result of the failure of some companies to pay their annual service fees for the respective mineral titles. The annual service fee is a statutory payment by mineral title holders for each cadastral unit on mineral titles.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil went down on Tuesday after a projection showed steady demand in the world’s largest oil producer, the United States, for 2025, Brent futures declining by $1.09 or 1.35 per cent to settle at $79.92 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude losing $1.32 or 1.67 per cent to finish at $77.50 a barrel.
On Tuesday, the US Energy Information Administration said the country’s oil demand would remain steady at 20.5 million barrels per day in 2025 and 2026, with domestic oil output rising to 13.55 million barrels per day, an increase from the agency’s previous forecast of 13.52 million barrels per day for this year.
Also, the oil market shrank a few days after prices gained following new US sanctions on Russian oil exports to India and China.
On Monday, prices jumped 2 per cent after the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that transport oil as part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers.
Analysts say this move could have a significant price impact on Russian oil supplies from the fresh sanctions, however, their effect on the physical market could be less pronounced than what the affected volumes might suggest.
ING analysts estimated the new sanctions had the potential to erase the entire 700,000 barrels per day surplus they had forecast for this year, but said the real impact could be lower.
Uncertainty about demand from China, the world’s largest oil importer, could impact tighter supply this year.
China’s crude oil imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed on Monday.
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US fell by 2.6 million barrels for the week ending January 10.
For the week prior, the API reported a draw of 4.022 million barrels in US crude oil inventories amid build season, while product inventories saw a hefty build.
In 2024, crude oil inventories dropped by more than 12 million barrels, according to the API’s inventory data. In the first few weeks of 2025, crude inventories have shed more than 6.6 million barrels.
Official data from the US EIA will be due later on Wednesday, confirming the actual level of stockpiles.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited came under heavy selling pressure on Tuesday, going down by 1.66 per cent as investors embarked on profit-taking after most stocks on the trading platform gained in the past few trading sessions.
It was observed that the industrial goods sector was the most affected yesterday as it went down by 4.99 per cent due to the decline suffered by Dangote Cement and others.
The insurance continued its downward trend during the day as it lost 2.80 per cent, the consumer goods counter fell by 0.27 per cent, and the banking index shed 0.10 per cent, while the energy sector appreciated by 0.29 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) deflated by 1,745.16 points to settle at 103,622.09 points compared with the previous trading day’s 105,367.25 points and the market capitalisation moderated by N1.1 trillion to finish at N63.188 trillion versus Monday’s N64.252 trillion.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained weak on Tuesday after the bourse ended with 41 depreciating equities and 23 appreciating equities, representing a negative market breadth index.
Honeywell Flour lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N9.54, Dangote Cement declined by 9.98 per cent to N431.00, Julius Berger crashed by 9.98 per cent to N139.80, Sovereign Trust Insurance decreased by 9.68 per cent to N1.12, and Prestige Assurance tumbled by 9.30 per cent to N1.17.
On the flip side, Northern Nigerian Flour Mills appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N45.10, Livestock Feeds grew by 9.91 per cent to N6.10, Academy Press expanded by 9.90 per cent to N3.22, University Press increased by 9.82 per cent to N4.81, and Neimeth gained 9.76 per cent to quote at N3.15.
During the session, market participants bought and sold 503.3 million shares valued at N12.6 billion in 12,900 deals compared with the 505.8 million shares worth N8.1 billion traded in 14,259 deals a day earlier, indicating a rise in the trading value by 55.56 per cent and a drop in the trading volume and number of deals by 0.49 per cent and 9.53 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was GTCO with 54.4 million units worth N3.2 billion, Nigerian Breweries transacted 32.2 million units for N1.0 billion, Universal Insurance traded 30.8 million units valued at N22.6 million, AIICO Insurance exchanged 26.6 million units worth N47.2 million, and Chams transacted 20.0 million units valued at N40.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government is offering two new savings bonds with interest rates between 17 and 18 per cent through the Debt Management Office (DMO).
In a statement by the agency, the country said retail investors can purchase the two-year bond maturing in January 2027 at 17.23 per cent interest, while the three-year paper maturing in January 2028 at a coupon rate of 18.23 per cent.
Bonds are very safe financial instrument that serve as investments because they are backed by the federal government, which promises to pay back the money.
According to the DMO, people can buy these bonds starting January 13, 2025, until January 17, 2025, with allotment expected on January 22, 2025, and the interest to be paid to investors every three months – in April, July, October, and January.
These bonds have some special features. They are tax-free under both company and personal tax laws.
Big investors like pension funds and trustees are allowed to buy them and each bond costs N1,000 each.
However, interested investor can only buy at least N5,000 worth, and can’t buy more than N50 million.
This comes after the Ms Patience Oniha-led debt office said the Nigerian government was offering three bonds worth N150 billion in September 2024.
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