FG Eyes N20bn revenue from mining sector
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite has said that government hopes to earn N20 billion revenue from the mining sector in the current fiscal year.
Adegbite stated this when the Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, presented the report of the Mineral Revenue Optimization Committee to him in Abuja.
The minister assured that the recommendations of the Committee would be studied and considered for implementation as appropriate. “Let’s say by the end of the year, we will do N20 billion.
That is a quantum leap from 5.2 billion in 2019. That is what we want to do.” Adegbite said. The minister said the two major mandates given to the ministry by President Muhammadu Buhari were to create employment and expand the revenue base of the ministry.
Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of State and Chairman of the committee, said the committee examined the revenue generation performances of the ministry in the past five years and noted that the revenue generated increased steadily by over 68% from N2.2 billion in 2014 to N3.7 in 2018.
“The major mineral commodities that account for larger percentage of revenue generated by MID are construction minerals (stone aggregate and limestone) while mineral title application and annual service fees constituted the bulk of revenue generated by the Mining Cadastral Office.” he said. One of the recommendations of the committee is that the ministry should develop Executive Orders and obtain the President’s approval to address the challenge of interferences by state governments in the governance of mining activities.
In addition, the committee recommended that mechanisms should be put in place to ensure optimal collection of royalties on sand and laterite used in executing construction projects by deduction at source on all federal government contracts. Daily Trust