South West Highest Contributor To Federal Purse In Mining Sector – Alake

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, on Thursday, revealed that the South West geopolitical zone was the highest contributor to the federal government’s mining revenues, accounting for N7.2 billion of the N13 billion in revenues generated by the ministry from the nation’s mining sector between January and September 2025.

He made these remarks during the Southwest Stakeholders Dialogue, a regional citizen-government interactive town hall session featuring ministers and senior federal government officials, held in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.

The Minister also disclosed, “Our records show that companies from the Southwest hold 1,801 mineral titles, out of a total of over 9,000 nationwide.”

He added that increased royalties have significantly boosted federal government revenue from the sector and encouraged mergers and acquisitions, which have raised industrial consciousness.

“Previously, individuals owned as many as 35 mining licenses without operating any. Meanwhile, investors with capital lacked mining licenses. Some license holders were financially insolvent and unable to sustain mining operations. Mining is capital-intensive.

“With the increase in charges payable, some were forced into mergers and acquisitions, which strengthened their financial capacity and access to financial institutions. The results are seen in the mining cadastre office’s revenues, which doubled from N6 billion in 2023 to N12.2 billion in 2024.

“From January this year to last week, these figures have risen by 110 per cent, reaching a record N26.7 billion. As we approach year-end, we expect even greater achievements,” he stated.

Alake further highlighted that, “Southwest has the most successful gold mining project in Nigeria—the Segilola Thor Project—which declared a turnover of $193 million at its international headquarters in 2024.

“The Segilola gold mining project in Osun State employs over 2,000 workers, 80% of whom are youths below 40 years of age. Segilola pays the highest taxes and royalties in the gold mining sub-sector, significantly contributing to Nigeria’s growing presence in the global gold market.

“This success is credited to Sheikh Horos, the Managing Director and CEO of Segilola Gold in Washington. This project is crucial for promoting Nigeria at various international forums.

“With abundant mineral deposits from Olodumare, the Southwest has gold, lithium, limestone, granite, clay, silica, salt, feldspar, kaolin, latriate, quartz, manganese, beryllium, and the world’s finest gemstones—not to mention lithium, which is the world’s second largest deposit here in Ondo State.

“Our records show that Southwest companies hold 1,801 mineral titles, including 630 exploration licenses, 51 mining leases, 284 quarry leases, and 836 small-scale mining licenses.

“As of October 15, Ondo State has the highest number of titles at 481, followed by Oyo with 441, and Osun with 374. The Southwest’s status as the country’s largest concentration of quarry leases explains the cluster of mining explosives manufacturing companies here.’’