The federal government said it generated N14.59 billion in five years (2018 to 2022) from mining licenses.
Director-general of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (NMCO), Obadiah Nkom, disclosed this at the 63rd session of the State House ministerial briefing in Abuja.
According to him, in 2018, 2019, and 2020, the agency generated N1.55 billion, N2.38 billion, and N2.57 billion, respectively, while between 2021 and 2022, revenue fell from N4.3 billion to N3.79 billion.
Nkom, who was recently reappointed, attributed the drop in revenue to changes in its internal operating system which temporarily affected inflows.
He added that the bulk of the agency’s revenue comes from application, processing and annual service fees; constituting 50 percent of the annual revenue generated from the federal ministry of mines and steel development and that 100 per cent of the agency’s revenues are sent to the treasury single account of the federal government.
Nkom said the agency had revoked 3,000 titles from defaulters, with plans to revoke more in 2023.
“If you have not paid, we put it on the newspaper and then, we gazette it and we give you 30 days to ensure that you pay so that the serious ones will come and pay and those that are not serious, we will revoke it. We have revoked titles,” he said.
While pointing out that Nkom there are over 6,000 mineral title holders in Nigeria, he explained that the revocation was to ensure that mine fields are cleared for serious operators.
