Lawmakers Call for First-Line Charge on Solid Minerals Amid Zero Capital Releases

After it was revealed that capital releases to the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for 2025 were zero, the National Assembly on Monday decided to grant the ministry first-line charge status. Development MPs saw this as a significant setback to Nigeria’s economic diversification program.

The Joint National Assembly Committee on Solid Minerals Development members voiced concern during a budget defense session in Abuja that, in spite of massive appropriations, the ministry did not receive any capital disbursement in 2025 and that, as of January 31, 2026, only 50% of its overhead allocation had been released.

The 2025 fiscal year’s zero release of N865.06 billion allocated for capital expenditures has blocked vital infrastructure, exploration, and sector development projects, Solid Minerals Development Minister Mr. Dele Alake informed lawmakers.

He issued a warning that the solid minerals sector would continue to be constrained by treasury delays and shortfalls in the absence of assured funding through first-line charge status, where statutory amounts are automatically disbursed from the Federation Account like priority sectors.

“This is the most critical issue because inconsistent releases were undermining efforts to reposition mining as a key driver of economic growth, job creation, and foreign investment,” Alake stated.

In order to protect the ministry’s budget from bureaucratic snags and guarantee steady funding, MPs claimed that first-line charge status was essential if Nigeria was to realize the enormous potential of its mineral resources.

Senator Ekong Sampson, the Joint Committee’s chairman, called the zero capital release “worrisome” and said it was essentially in conflict with the ambitious predictions included in the national budget.

“With a zero percent release, how do you maximize the sector’s potential?” “What?” Sampson asked.

He pointed out that prior initiatives, such as a N1 trillion investment in the sector, had increased investor and industry expectations, but cautioned that “the budget framework is rendered quite unattractive” in the absence of real financial support.

Other MPs concurred that the finance structure needs to be urgently reformed, stating that solid minerals should have first-line charge protection, just like the petroleum industry.

Maybe we ought to strive to make it a first-line charge, similar to the oil industry. We cannot simply appropriate figures without making payment. How are they going to grow the mining industry? A team member inquired.

Alake replied that the concept was “sweet music” and that the National Assembly should support it with legislation to make the arrangement possible.

Enacting legislation makes it feasible. Our executive equipment will then be put on to guarantee delivery,” he stated.

The ministry and its agencies have capital, overhead, and staff ceilings of N165.34 billion for the fiscal year, according to Alake, who presented the ministry’s 2026 budget proposal.

The main ministry was intended to spend N48.9 billion on staff costs, N1.57 billion on overhead, and N45.54 billion on capital expenditures. The remaining amount was to be distributed among its agencies.

“Execution, production, and revenue generation” replaced “planning and potential” in the 2026 concept, he said.

In his view, the sectoral investment of N156.34 billion is an essential investment aimed at enabling solid minerals to diversify the country’s economy, provide employment, and greatly increase GDP.

According to the minister, the proposed allocation places a high priority on digital technologies, logistics, and monitoring in order to improve revenue collection, stop illicit mining, and establish a stable environment for prudent investment.

Despite financial limitations, Alake said that the ministry generated N30.23 billion as of December 31, 2025, 80% more than its 2025 revenue projection.

He said the measures that formalized artisanal miners into corporations and cooperatives enhanced their access to capital and increased their compliance with regulations, which is why revenue performance improved.

To avoid being labeled illegal miners, we were able to persuade them to establish corporations, he claimed.

In addition to attracting funding and becoming formalized institutions, they will allow the government to demand and collect taxes, royalties, and other civic duties.

In the year under review, the minister also stated that 4 high-risk abandoned mining sites were reclaimed, artisanal miners were trained, and 388 mineral buying centers were built.

The expansion of the ministry’s corporate content management system, which propelled digitization efforts and made it the most digitized ministry in the nation over the previous 12 months, was another point he made.

Alake claimed that Nigeria had gained international attention as a mining destination due to its enhanced geological data collection, which attracted a lot of interest from investors.

He mentioned that at the last African mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa, Nigeria’s display booth apparently attracted a lot of interest from foreign investors.

We are on par with the world’s mining behemoths thanks to the accumulation of geological data that has been verified by science. Nigeria is now listed on the globe thanks to the little we have done,” he remarked.

The MPs, however, insisted that such improvements could be hard to consolidate in the absence of steady and consistent support.

The minister was given their word that the committee will look at the proposal for first-line charge status and investigate ways to improve the sector’s funding structure through legislation.

Solid minerals priority funding, they contend, will not only ensure financial stability but also send a message to international investors that Nigeria is dedicated to developing a respectable and competitive mining sector.

“You get more if you invest more.” Notably, the revenue profile has improved. “It is evident that you would have accomplished a lot more if you had more,” Sampson stated.

In order to guarantee that the industry produces what MPs referred to as “huge harvests” for the national economy, the committee promised to collaborate with the government to create policies.