By Ola Kay
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake on Wednesday cancelled 924 in upholding the ‘Use it or Lose it’ policy of the Ministry.
At a press conference held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, he disclosed that the revoked mining licences include 528 Exploration Licences; 20 Mining Leases; 101 Quarry licences; and 273 Small Scale Mining Licences.
He said that affected organizations are given 30 days ultimatum to make up for their inactivities and be reinstated by paying a fine, based on a new government’s policy, while disclosing that small scale mining Licences will attract a fine of N7.5 million; Exploration Licence N5 million, and Mining Licence N10 million to the Federal Government, adding that and the new policy extends to even those just revoked.
Mr. Alake used that occasion to castigate individuals involved in licence racketeering who were aware of minerals commercial value and pollute the market by engaging in speculation and offering the licences to the highest bidder, and consequently portrayed the country in a negative light.
.He pointed out that there are negative consequences for licence racketeering, denying serious minded business concerns access to move to site, as well as making use of the sites, because the concept of ‘First Come, First Serve’ shows that the place has been acquired, which makes the country loses a lot of Foreign Direct Investments, FDIs, on account of the sabotage of this nature.
Alake took time to explain that, “Clearly, Nigeria’s mining sector cannot continue to suffer low investment on account of the nefarious activities of persons who buy licences of promising mine sites to sell, it therefore became imperative to revoke dormant licences.
“In line with constitutional provisions, we ensured that adequate notice was given to the concerned parties through the official gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria No 227 which was published on December 27, 2023.
“This notice gave all concerned parties 30 days to regularize their status including clarifications on what caused the licence to be dormant.
“Thus, although a total of 963 licences were published and notified of the threat of revocation, no fewer than 39 either moved to site immediately or convinced the authorities of the challenges which hindered their operations.
“In view of the above which shows our adherence with due process and fair consideration and in line with the standard policy of ‘Use it or Lose It’, I hereby revoke the 924 dormant licences with immediate effect.
These include 528 Exploration Licences; 20 Mining Leases; 101 Quarry licences; and 273 Small Scale Mining Licences.
“Investors across the globe are now free to apply for any of the affected cadastral units on the basis ‘First Come, First Served.’ It is our belief that this decision will sanitize the licencing system by penalizing those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazzar.
“The good lesson from this exercise is for investors to do their homework and be ready to flag off their projects as soon as they obtain licences. Nigeria is open for business and we shall encourage smart, serious and adventurous investors to set up and give to our teeming youths.”
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