…pledges support for mining sector
The Senate Committee on Solid Minerals has commended the Director General of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, Simon Obadiah Nkom for the consistent increase in revenue generated by the agency annually and his prudent utilization of funds.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Ekong Sampson who gave the commendation during a 2025 budget defence by the DG of NMCO in Abuja, also pledged support for the overall development of a profitable mining sector in the country.
The committee also pledged its commitment to providing adequate funding for the NMCO to effectively carry out its responsibilities in the mining sector.
The panel however urged the agency to do more in ramping up revenue to enable President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to achieve his developmental agenda.
Sampson said: “The Mining Cadastre Office has done well in respect of revenue generation. By ramping up revenue for the country, I think that deserves commendation, but a lot still needs to be done.
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“The country is looking forward to diversification. We are working to ramp up revenue for our economy. So, one looks forward to this kind of effort where revenue is ramped up so that we can firm up our economy.
“For whatever your projections, you deserve support and encouragement and the committee is fully alive. We have noted the issues you have canvassed. We have also noted the fact that you have ramped up revenue for the country.
“We look forward to happier days as it were. We expect you to increase your revenue which would help to drive our economy. We thank you and we have noted your insights.
“We as a committee, are committed that Nigeria has to look beyond oil and it must diversify and that explains the concerns that we raised earlier when we observed that there was clear inadequacy to what was appropriated for solid minerals in Nigeria.
“We raised that concern in the national interest. We are co-travellers who are united, that our economy must be strengthened and one way we can explore to strengthen our economy is through this (solid minerals) sector.
“God did not make a mistake to have endowed our country so much. We have so many minerals. We have so many endowments. Our solid minerals sector must be given the attention that it deserves if we are to drive diversification meaningfully.
“If we have to look beyond oil, we must look at solid minerals. I think that is a clear matrix that we are adopting in this committee, driven as it were by a very patriotic commitment to firm up our economy.
“So we have noted your contributions and we are proud of the steps you have taken to ramp up revenue. Do even more for the sake of our economy.”
The DG of NMCO, Nkom, in his presentation before the committee, said the agency generated ₦ 8.2 billion as of October 2024, marking a significant milestone in the agency’s revenue performance.
He said despite the agency generating over N8billion in revenue by October 2024, its annual appropriation remained only at N1billion.
He expressed optimism that with increased investment in equipment, staff training, and better operational conditions, NMCO could achieve even higher revenues while ensuring ethical practices within the sector.
The agency’s total revenue from inception to October 2024 according to him, stands at N36.04 billion, with 100 per cent of this amount remitted to the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA).
He added that the agency’s revenue from 2019 when he assumed office to October 2024 amounts to N26.23 billion, representing 75 per cent of the total revenue generated, with N13.19 billion of that amount earned from 2023 to October 2024 alone.
He said this marked a 63 per cent increase from the N8.09 billion earned during the same period in 2021 – 2022.
He said the breakdown of NMCO’s revenue growth over the years showed consistent increases as follows: 2019 – N2.38 billion, 2020 – N2.56 billion, 2021 – N4.30billion, 2022 – N3.79billion, 2023 – N6.07billion and as of October 2024 – N8.20 billion.
He attributed the consistent rise in revenue to reforms within NMCO, including enhanced transparency, strict enforcement measures, and the digitization of licensing and revenue collection systems.
