President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria can defeat poverty by turning its mineral wealth into real prosperity.
He urged stakeholders to transform the nation’s vast resources into engines of economic growth.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said Nigeria possesses enough natural and human resources to overcome poverty, stressing that the country’s mineral wealth must be transformed into real economic prosperity.
The President delivered this message at the 2025 Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. He emphasized that with Nigeria’s abundant solid minerals and skilled population, the country has every reason to thrive.
Tinubu urged stakeholders to make “minerals to miracles” their collective goal, calling for the full harnessing of the nation’s vast deposits to power national development. He reaffirmed his administration’s resolve to create a secure, transparent, and investor-friendly mining sector, describing the mining week as an important platform for shaping strategies that will drive Nigeria’s economic renewal.
He also noted that Africa holds roughly 30 percent of the world’s known mineral resources and encouraged African countries to add more value locally rather than exporting raw materials.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, said the mining sector is gradually being reformed but still contributes less than one percent to the nation’s GDP. He disclosed that sector revenue increased from ₦339.57 billion in 2022 to ₦401.87 billion in 2023, adding that while artisanal miners produce most of the output, their contribution to royalties remains relatively small.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake, stated that the Tinubu administration is repositioning the mining industry as a key driver of economic diversification, job creation, and sustainable growth.
