NEITI: 2,119 mining firms failed to pay N2.76bn into federation account in 2020

Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says 2,119 companies operating in the solid minerals industry owed the federation N2.76 billion in 2020.

Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, executive secretary of NEITI, said this on Sunday at the presentation of the 2020 Solid Minerals report to industry stakeholders in Abuja.

The NEITI Independent Solid Minerals Industry Report tracked and reconciled financial flows, checked quantities of minerals produced, utilised and exported in 2020.

According to Orji, the companies’ liabilities resulted from failure to pay statutory annual service fees for respective mineral titles. 

He said 6,010 existing solid mineral titles were valid as of December 31, 2020, while 7,605 mining titles were issued in the industry in the last five years.

“At this time that government is desperate for revenues to finance the widening budget deficits, NEITI is determined to use its reports to disclose potential revenue recoveries, awaiting immediate action by relevant government agencies,” he said.

“It is of interest to NEITI that every kobo counts to reduce government financial burden, and our reports will continue to provide useful information and data on who owes what in the oil, gas and mining sector.”

He also said the total revenue contributions from the sector in 2020 rose to N128.27 billion, an increase of over 54 percent from N74.85 billion recorded in 2019 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Orji added that the NEITI report also revealed that N8.89 billion was shared among the federating units as solid minerals revenue in 2020.

“Breakdown of the figure showed that the Federal Government received N4.07 billion (45.83 per cent), states and Local Governments received N2.07 billion and N1.59 billion (23.25 per cent; 17.92 per cent) respectively, while N1.16 billion (13 per cent) was recorded as derivative share.”

The report also disclosed that 71.1 million metric tonnes of minerals were produced in 2020. A breakdown of the total production showed that granite, limestone, sand and laterite were the highest contributors to minerals royalty payments recorded within the period.

Five states of the federation (Ogun, Kogi, Cross River, Edo and Bayelsa states) topped the table, contributing 66 percent of solid minerals produced across the country that year.