Tinubu: Nigeria Must Turn ‘Minerals to Miracles’ for National Prosperity

President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to harness the country’s vast mineral wealth to drive national development and economic renewal.

Speaking on Wednesday at the 2025 Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja, the President — represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume — said Nigeria has “no reason to be poor” given its abundance of natural resources and human talent.

“Our challenge is to harness these potentials to bring prosperity to all. Let us turn our minerals into miracles of development. ‘Minerals to Miracles’ must be our rallying cry,” he said.

Tinubu described the Mining Week as “an emerging global forum” for generating ideas to guide Nigeria’s economic diversification through collaboration between investors, companies, and government.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring that mining areas across the country remain safe for investors, workers, and host communities.

Highlighting Nigeria’s continental role, the President noted that Africa holds about 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves and stressed the need for responsible resource management to ensure value addition, job creation, and industrial growth.

“When our mining sector thrives, it signals that value-added resource development is Africa’s way forward,” Tinubu added.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) called for a harmonised and transparent regulatory framework to attract long-term investments in the solid minerals sector.

The Deputy Director of Communications and Stakeholders Management at NEITI, Chris Ochonu, urged policymakers to address policy overlaps and multiple taxation, which he said continue to deter credible investors.

Also speaking, NEITI Executive Secretary Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji said the sector is undergoing major reforms to reposition it as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economic diversification and energy transition strategy.

Citing NEITI’s 2023 Solid Minerals Industry Report, Dr. Orji revealed that the sector’s contribution to GDP remains below 1%, though revenues grew from ?339.57 billion in 2022 to ?401.87 billion in 2023.

“Artisanal and small-scale mining accounted for over 80% of total production volumes but contributed less than 30% of royalties paid. This underscores deep governance and structural challenges that demand urgent reform,” he said.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Oladele Alake, also presented a progress report on the administration’s reforms aimed at transforming the sector into a major driver of economic growth.

On the sidelines, Dr. Orji addressed a special forum hosted by the Kaduna Mining Development Company, where he emphasised transparency, accountability, and institutional reforms as critical to boosting investor confidence and productivity in sub-national mining ventures.