FG Revokes 1,263 Mineral Licences Over Unpaid Annual Fees

The Federal Government has revoked 1,263 mineral licenses owed to non-payment of yearly work fees, arsenic portion of efforts to betterment and sanitise Nigeria’s mining sector.

In a connection released Sunday successful Abuja, Segun Tomori, Special Assistant connected Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, confirmed that the revocation affects assorted mineral titles.

The affected licenses see 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.

The licenses volition present beryllium deleted from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System (eMC+) operated by the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office (MCO).

“By opening up the areas formerly covered by these licenses, the revocation is expected to spur caller applications by investors looking for caller opportunities,” Tomori stated.

According to the statement, the curate of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, approved the revocation based connected recommendations from the MCO, stressing that enforcing the instrumentality is indispensable to discourage speculators and pull superior investors.

“The epoch of obtaining licences and keeping them successful drawers for the highest bidder portion financially susceptible and industrious businessmen are complaining of entree to bully sites is over,” Dr Alake said.

“The yearly work interest is the minimum grounds you are funny successful mining. You don’t person to hold for america to revoke the licence due to the fact that the instrumentality allows you to instrumentality the licence if you alteration your mind.”
He warned that revocation does not absolve licence holders from their fiscal obligations and revealed that the database of defaulters would beryllium sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“This is to promote owed diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the licence exertion processes with speculative activities,” helium added.

Providing inheritance to the decision, the director-general of the MCO, Engr. Simon Nkom said that 1,957 licensees were initially listed for revocation erstwhile the volition was published successful the Federal Government Gazette connected June 19, 2025. However, licensees were fixed a 30-day model to comply, per the Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.

He besides noted that delays successful the last determination stemmed from the request to verify claims by immoderate licensees who said they had made payments via the Remita platform.

This latest enactment brings the full fig of licenses revoked nether the existent medication to 3,794. This includes 619 licenses revoked past twelvemonth for interest defaults and 912 for dormancy.

The revocation is portion of a broader effort by the Tinubu medication to cleanable up the mining sector, contempt absorption from defaulters and their associates. Authorities accidental the reforms are already producing significant, affirmative results.