The Tinubu Stakeholders Forum (TSF) has welcomed reports that Nigeria has attracted over $2.6 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the mining sector in the last two years.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Ahmad Sajoh and Secretary Danjuma Sada, it described the development as a major vote of confidence in the reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“For TSF, this is clear evidence that disciplined reforms, policy clarity and firm leadership can unlock sectors that were neglected for too long. The progress in the mining sector reflects deliberate actions by the Federal Government to improve governance, digitise licensing processes and intensify the crackdown on illegal mining.
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“These reforms are restoring credibility to the sector. By improving transparency in mineral title administration, revoking dormant and non-compliant licences, and confronting illegal mining, the Tinubu administration is sending a strong signal that Nigeria’s mineral wealth will no longer be left to disorder, speculation and criminal exploitation.
“Serious investors respond to serious policy, and that is exactly what this administration is providing,” the statement said.
TSF also noted that the reforms are already attracting companies that are establishing processing and value-addition projects in Nigeria.
“Public reports have linked firms such as Canmax Technologies, Jiuling Lithium, Avatar New Energy Nigeria Company, and Asba Group to major lithium processing investments in the country. This shows that Nigeria is no longer content to sit on mineral deposits without building the industrial capacity required to benefit fully from them.
“We are encouraged that these investments are supporting the establishment of processing plants and related infrastructure within Nigeria.
“This marks an important shift from the old pattern where raw materials left the country with little domestic value created. What is emerging instead is a more strategic approach that links mining to industrial growth, job creation, technology transfer and stronger domestic production.
“This is why TSF considers the development significant beyond the mining sector itself. It shows that the Tinubu administration is deliberately widening the base of the Nigerian economy and reducing the country’s overdependence on oil and gas.
“For decades, hydrocarbons dominated national economic thinking. What we are seeing now is a determined effort to build new pillars of growth in solid minerals, manufacturing and export-oriented industrial activity.
“TSF is especially pleased that the current policy direction supports local manufacturing. Nigeria must not remain a mere exporter of raw minerals while other economies reap the higher-value benefits of processing, refining and industrial production. The push for local beneficiation and in-country processing is the right path if the country is to convert natural resources into factories, skilled jobs, technical capacity and sustainable prosperity.
“A stronger mining value chain will support the local manufacturing sector by supplying industrial inputs, stimulating investment in power and logistics, creating employment for Nigerian youths and strengthening linkages across the wider economy.
“If sustained, these reforms can help Nigeria move from being simply a resource-rich country to becoming a productive industrial economy,” it added.
The group urged the Federal Government to sustain the momentum by deepening enforcement, expanding geological data, strengthening host community engagement and ensuring that the benefits of the sector are broadly shared by Nigerians.
