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FG Alerts Imminent Mining Reforms Coming
Joel Ajayi
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr Oladele Alake has said imminent reforms in the mining industry will separate genuine businessmen interested in long-term and value-added investment from adventurers carting away raw minerals.
Addressing the Mining Ministers Forum at the China Mining Week 2023 held in Tianjin, China on Thursday, the minister said the new mineral development roadmap of the Federal Government will solve the lingering problems of the sector.
He said the proposed Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Company will mobilize domestic and international capital and technology to raise the industrial capacity of the sector.
Stressing the importance of geological data to mining finance and exploration, Dr.Alake said the Tinubu administration will invest massively in critical data to make it easier to attract investors to the sector while putting in place social and governance standards to protect the environment.
The minister said the government is currently engaging artisanal miners to join co-operatives to formalize labour and small enterprises in the sectors to widen access to training, extension services, machinery, and credit.
He assured investors of an orderly industrial environment adding that the new security architecture for the sector will combine the formal agencies of enforcement with community safety organs to combat threats and protect miners.
Allaying the fears of interferences in mining operations by sub-national agencies, Dr Alake said the Tinubu administration has developed cordial relations between the federal and state governments and the ministry recently hosted the governors’ forum to resolve pertinent issues.
He advised prospective investors to include the industrial processing of minerals in their business plans adding that a new regime of compulsory value addition as an investment condition will soon be in place.
News
AWESSA 2026: Customs Assures Border Cooperation for Women Entrepreneurs
By James Samuel, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service has said the nation’s borders must become gateways of opportunity for African women entrepreneurs, not obstacles that kill their businesses.
This was disclosed at the African Women’s Economic Sovereignty Summit and Awards (AWESSA) 2026 held at the Customs House, corporate headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service in Abuja.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, his representative, an Assistant Controller, said hosting the summit inside Customs premises was deliberate.
“That this summit holds within the Customs premises is no accident. It is a statement of intent,” he said.
“The border is where the promise of every African trader either comes alive or dies quietly. And the men and women of this Service have resolved that for every woman entrepreneur of this continent, that promise will never die.”
He said women account for an estimated 70% of informal cross-border trade in Africa and over half of agricultural labour, yet they face documentation, standards, finance and harassment challenges.
“Too often she meets the border as an obstacle rather than a gateway. Because she trades in small volumes, in cash, in informality without formal papers, capable business women are now trapped in informality, invisible to trade statistics,” he noted.
He added: “AfCFTA will not be delivered by treaties alone. It will be delivered at border posts, in conference halls, and in market stores.”
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, represented by a Director, said women are central to Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.
According to her, NEPC’s focus is now on building export- ready competitive enterprises through programmes like the Women in Export Initiative, Export Clinic, and Zero to Export.
“Our focus is no longer on encouraging exports alone, it is on building competitive export-ready enterprises. We are supporting women to move beyond production into value addition, quality assurance, standard compliance, branding and market positioning,” she said.
She said AfCFTA offers a market of over one billion people, but women need knowledge, certifications and institutional support.
“Empowering women economically is one of the most effective tools for achieving poverty reduction, food security, job creation and inclusive growth,” she stated.
The Convener, Helen Okon, who is the Publisher of Business Review Africa & Africa Today Magazine, as well as representatives of NAFDAC DG and NEXIM Bank MD, reaffirmed commitment to supporting women-owned businesses access standards, certification and finance.
The summit, with the theme of positioning women as drivers of trade and sustainable development, is part of activities marking the International Year of the Women Farmer.
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