Over 4,700 mining licences revoked as FG moves to sanitise sector

By Kunle Sanni –

The Federal Government has revoked 4,709 mining licences as part of a major clean-up of the solid minerals sector, aimed at curbing fraud and creating space for genuine investors.

Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), Obadiah Nkom, disclosed this on Thursday during a live conversation on X (formerly Twitter) titled “A Deep Dive into the Mining Cadastre Office: Driving Transparency and Order in Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Sector.”

Nkom said the exercise targets expired, speculative, and inactive licences to enforce compliance and boost investor confidence. He explained that the revoked titles include 1,400 expired licences, 2,338 refused applications, and 971 notifications of grant where applicants failed to make payment. All were cancelled by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.

The DG stressed that the action was not punitive but necessary to rid the sector of speculators. “This cleaning exercise is creating space in the minefield for serious players. With over 4,700 licences revoked, the sector is more transparent, and investors now understand there will be consequences for inactivity,” he said.

He added that the MCO had recorded “100 per cent success” in legal challenges because its actions are strictly backed by law. Many licence holders, he noted, are now voluntarily surrendering their titles, recognising that hoarding multiple licences without investment is no longer sustainable.

Nkom recalled that in 2024, the Minister revoked 924 licences for non-payment of statutory charges, warning that licence racketeering and speculative holding of mineral-rich sites remained major obstacles to sector development.

According to him, the latest revocation exercise is consistent with government reforms to make the mining sector more transparent, credible, and attractive to genuine investors.

The Federal Government insists that the ongoing clean-up will restore order in the industry, ensuring that only operators committed to exploration and value addition remain in the system.