NEITI Calls for an End to Multiple Taxation in the Solid Minerals Industry

Table of Contents

1. NEITI's Call for a Harmonized Regulatory Framework
2. Improvements in Licensing Processes
3. Executive Secretary's Appeal at Nigeria Mining Week
4. Reforms in the Mining Sector
5. Contribution to GDP
6. Challenges in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining
7. Focus on Critical Minerals
8. President's Remarks at Nigeria Mining Week

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has urged policymakers to establish a harmonized, transparent, and predictable regulatory framework for Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to foster growth and attract long-term capital investments.

The government agency mentioned that its findings indicate notable improvements in licensing procedures; however, it emphasized the need to prioritize addressing policy overlaps and multiple taxation, which continue to deter credible investors and hinder sector growth.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, made this appeal at the 2025 Nigeria Mining Week held in Abuja. He underscored the necessity of tackling policy overlaps and multiple taxation that dissuade credible investors.

In a statement signed by NEITI’s Deputy Director of Communications, Chris Ochonu, the Executive Secretary highlighted that Nigeria’s mining sector is undergoing reforms aimed at repositioning it as a cornerstone for economic diversification and energy transition strategies.

Referring to NEITI’s 2023 Solid Minerals Industry Report, Dr. Orji noted that the sector’s contribution to GDP remains below 1%, despite a modest increase in revenues from ₦339.57 billion in 2022 to ₦401.87 billion in 2023.

“Despite this growth, the figures fall significantly short of the sector’s full potential. Our data indicates that artisanal and small-scale mining accounted for over 80% of total production volumes but contributed less than 30% of the royalties paid. This highlights severe governance and structural challenges that require urgent reform,” Orji stated.

He further advocated for a strategic emphasis on developing essential minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and manganese to position Nigeria favorably in the changing global energy transition landscape. He urged stakeholders in the mining community to support government initiatives to create a credible National Mineral Reserve Database that is accessible to both investors and the public.

Orji recommended “streamlining fiscal and royalty regimes to eliminate duplication, promoting value addition and local processing to retain economic benefits, strengthening environmental, gender, and community development frameworks in host communities, and pursuing comprehensive reforms that enhance indigenous participation, protect local jobs, and uphold national interests.”

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, described the Nigeria Mining Week as “an emerging global forum generating ideas to guide the nation’s journey toward economic renewal through collaboration between investors and companies.”

The President stressed Nigeria’s leadership role in resource development on the continent, noting that Africa holds approximately 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves and significant deposits of the critical minerals essential for driving the 21st-century global economy.

“We must responsibly harness this wealth, ensuring that more value remains within our economies, creating jobs and industrial clusters,” urged the President.