The Federal Government recovered over 90 mining sites from illegal operators and generated N28 billion in revenue in 2024, surpassing the ministry’s budgetary targets for the year, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, announced.
Alake made the disclosure recently during the South-West stakeholders’ dialogue, organised by Afenifere, the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, in collaboration with the DAWN Commission and South-West governors.
Speaking at the two-day summit themed ‘Strengthening Democracy Through Dialogue: Assessing Progress. Charting the Future’, the minister highlighted the government’s recovery of no fewer than 90 mining sites from illegal operators nationwide, stressing the importance of lawful practices in solid mineral exploitation as part of broader efforts to promote good governance and sustainable development.
He said, ‘Over 90 mining sites have been recovered, and over 300 illegal miners have been arrested with 50 of them being prosecuted, and over 20 illegal miners have been convicted since the inception of the present administration’.
According to him, the ministry in collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has established mining marshals with the purpose of securing mining sites.
He disclosed, ‘The Federal Government raked in N28 billion as revenue in 2024 from the ministry; the ministry over-performed on its budgetary target in 2024’.
Alake said that the current administration’s policy on mining was that mined minerals should not be exported raw except after undergoing local processing to give them a value chain.
He cautioned traditional rulers not to connive with illegal miners irrespective of financial inducements, saying the future of the country must not be traded.
Meanwhile, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, accused federal appointees of the All Progressives Congress from the state of planning to hijack his government ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
Adeleke said, ‘The federal party officials boast of powers to deploy security apparatus to witch-hunt state officials. On many occasions, officials of the federal ruling party have openly declared their readiness to hijack the state whether the people voted for them or not. Worst still, they have security cover when making such provocative declarations’.
He added, ‘it would interest the people to know that in Osun State, some security agencies openly protect and defend ruling party operatives even when they act in ways and manners against the law and the constitution’.
Represented by his deputy, Kola Adewusi, the governor said further, ‘As if that is not enough, the Osun local government fund was seized without any court order earlier this year. Duly elected local government officials were not allowed to assume office and those sacked by a subsisting court order were forced on the local government secretariats by federal power and security apparatus. All the facts are in the public domain.
‘I cite all above details to shed light on impunity and abuse of power as a major impediment to a virile national and subnational collaboration.
‘As a government, Osun State has demonstrated the willingness and readiness for productive partnership and interaction. Despite hostile posturing, Osun is always a top participant in federal peer review of the 36 states. In our engagements with the centre, several federal agencies have recognised Osun’s positive records in governance delivery’.
