Bagudu: Four lithium plants are being constructed to boost Nigeria’s solid minerals sector

Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning, says four lithium plants are being constructed across Nigeria to boost the solid minerals sector.

Speaking on the Morning Show on Arise Television while discussing the 2025 budget in collaboration with KPMG, Bagudu said the federal government has allocated $1 trillion in the budget to support domestic production in the sector.

“Because while we have done a lot in terms of the institutional alignment, we have created a solid mineral sector, a steel ministry, but some of the risk money that is required to propel the sector to greater production and productivity have not been provided,” he said.

“And with this $1 trillion, one will see a further transcendent of activity in the solid mineral sector. We are seeing announcements by the day, lithium plants are coming, at least four lithium plants are being constructed across Nigeria.

“Just the day before yesterday in Abuja, Wale Edun and I attended a signing ceremony where an investor is committing $400 million to a cement company in Kebbi State, as well as a lot of additional and industrial scale investment coming into the sector.”

Bagudu said the federal government is engaging with investors worldwide, attracting significant interest in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

He noted that President Bola Tinubu has secured $3 billion in investments from Brazilian investors for livestock and crop production.

“We have just seen an announcement by the Saudi Arabia Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company that have bought, have increased their shares in a company, Olam, that is based in Nigeria,” he further said.

“We met them in Saudi Arabia on Christmas Eve, the coordinating minister and I, among others, and they spoke about Nigeria as a prospective second after Brazil in terms of agriculture.

“Strong absorptive capacity, hardworking people who are in the space and who have been limited by technology, by financing, that is a great, strong market.

“The windows are fixed, and with the way the economy has been turned in the right direction, they are looking at investing more.

“This is in addition to increased activity that we are seeing at the small scale level and even at the additional level.”

‘NIGERIA RECORDED STRONG HARVEST IN MANY STATES’

Bagudu said Nigeria has recorded a strong harvest across many states, leading the government to allocate 1.5 trillion naira to boost agricultural production.

“With what we saw in the last few months, strong bumper harvest in many states, occasioned by increasing security and favourable weather conditions and increased activity by those in the agricultural space, which is already impacting on prices of food items,” he stated.

“It gives further impetus to do more in agriculture so that we maintain the trajectory of moving, modernising our agricultural production from the artisanal level to the livestock sector, to the fisheries sector, so that we can get yields to be higher.

“Because with improved yields, our people engaged in agriculture become wealthier and richer, which is a driver of wealth creation.

“And thus more money, 1.5 trillion naira is being put in the budget to recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture.

“And it is anticipated that with that recapitalisation, the challenge we are seeing in funding agriculture by traditional main street banks will be compensated for.”

Bagudu also said Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, is leading initiatives to ensure big private sector players in agriculture receive the necessary funding.

He added that the initiatives aim to support agricultural production, particularly for those affected by recent reforms and rising funding costs.