Mining operators owe trillions of naira in royalties, says Alake

Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, says the ministry is owed trillions of naira in unpaid royalties and taxes by legalised operators.

According to a statement on Sunday by Segun Tomori, special assistant on media to Alake, the minister spoke during a visit of Mohammed Bello, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) chairman, and his team to his office.

Alake said the federal government has implemented measures, including engaging consultants to block leakages and recover funds from the operators. 

“From our efforts, so far, we have discovered to our chagrin that we are owed trillions of naira in unpaid royalties and taxes by legalised operators,” he said. 

“We are committed to recovering these funds and also in the process of engaging internationally certified auditors to look at the system and automate the whole gamut of the revenue collection processes.” 

Alake said the government’s resolve is to sanitise the mining environment, ensuring it contributes substantially to the nation’s revenue, and ultimately make the sector rival oil in contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“We are ready to collaborate with you, states, and host communities to maximise the potential of the mining sector for the benefit of all Nigerians. Our focus is to ensure that the industry translates to greater good for the greatest number of our people,” Alake said.

He said the ministry has resolved to strengthen collaboration with the RMAFC, to block revenue leakages in the mining sector.

In his remarks, Bello said the commission’s visit is aimed at supporting the efforts of the minister to transform the mining sector since the assumption of office and also to obtain a commitment that RMAFC will get Alake’s cooperation for statutory monitoring activities.

“The commission was instrumental to getting the 10 percent monthly payment from the natural resources development fund to the solid minerals development fund (SMDF), and we know we can do much more together under your guidance and leadership to sanitise the sector, plug all loopholes and ensure the mining industry becomes a big chunk of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”, he said.

In his submission, Abubakar Sadiq, the commission’s chairman of solid minerals committee and commissioner representing Zamfara state, emphasised the need for improved collaboration with RMAFC to resolve the shortfall in revenue remittance by mining operators, as  well as monitoring gap by regulatory agencies.