The federal government of Nigeria has announced a significant increase in the dues and rates paid by operators in the mining sector, with rates rising by 50 to 100 percent across 286 categories.
This announcement was made by Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
Minister Alake emphasized that compliance with the new rates and dues would commence immediately, and warned that defaulters would face license revocation.
He explained that the review was necessary due to the funds currently being remitted by operators in the mining sector to government coffers, which were deemed insufficient.
The minister noted that the new rates and dues would help enhance the ease of doing business within the sector, a move aligned with the government’s broader economic strategies.
He highlighted that relevant stakeholders were involved in the decision-making process and that all parties unanimously accepted the increase.
Alake stated, “It is therefore equitable that those who use these services to invest in the mining sector and make profits from it should be on the frontlines of the government’s efforts to recoup rather than pass it on to poor Nigerians.
“Thus, in line with the powers conferred on me by the Mining and Minerals Act 2007, I set up a committee of the directors of departments and directors-general of agencies under the ministry and charged them with the mandate to work out new rates to justify governments’ investment in the service infrastructure and to cope with the expected meteoric spike in the traffic of applicants besieging the regulatory machinery.
“Today we are taking a significant step in our efforts to implement the seven-point agenda to reposition the sector and international competitiveness by announcing a new regime of rates and charges for various services, departments, and agencies.
“This is given by qualitative measures and technological capacity upgrades implemented in recent times to raise the level of technical efficiency, improve the traffic of transactions, and cope with business interest,” he added.
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