The Federal Government of Nigeria has started reaping the rewards of the strict compliance of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) to laws governing the administration of mineral titles in the country, a development that has led to the generation of unprecedented revenue by the agency in the past six years, the Director General of the agency, Engr Obadiah Simon Nkom has said.
The Director General, who made the disclosure at a media roundtable on Wednesday in Abuja, disclosed that the agency raked in over 11.573 billion Naira in six years, including the sum of 2.016 billion Naira which was generated in Quarter 1 of 2021.
Nkom, who was appointment Director General of the agency in January 2019 discussed the strategies that led to the successful revenue haul saying that apart from prioritizing transparency in its operations, the agency collaborated with relevant institutions particularly the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
‘In addition to improving our adherence to transparency laws, the demands payments from mining operators who are indebted to government,’ he said, adding that the mining businesses are required to offset debts before they get further cooperation from the agency.
‘So, On Jan 1, 2021, we published the list of defaulters in line with the provisions of the law,’ he said, adding that apart from publishing the list, the MCO sends registered posts to indebted operators clearly stating the indebtedness.
‘As required by law, the Mining Cadastre Office gives indebted companies grace of thirty days, after which it revokes the licenses of companies that fail to comply,’ he added.
He explained that the law empowers the agency to sue defaulters to court in order to ensure debt recovery, adding that the ability of the MCO management to invoke its powers where necessary is a factor that led to the huge success in revenue haul scored by the agency in the past six years.
Engr Nkom explained that the MCO won all its court cases because it strictly adhered to the provisions of the law.
‘In 2019 when I came on board, the agency generated the highest revenue ever, since its establishment.’
He said although Covid-19 pandemic disturbed businesses, the agency was nevertheless able to generate over two billion Naira in year 2020, stating that the figure became the third highest since the establishment of the MCO.
‘This year – Year 2021, the MCO has already exceeded the target as it has raked in over two billion Naira,’ he said.
He commended the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite and the Minister of State, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah for their commitment to economic diversification through the support they have given the MCO, adding that the mining sector is viable as a tool for economic diversification.
Engr Nkom explained that among the principles of the MCO are transparency, non-subjectivity, security of tenure, use-it-or-lose-it principle, adding that the Office does not deprive people from getting the licenses, but insists that the licenses must be used.
He pledged the commitment of the agency to revenue generation in line with extant laws as stipulated by the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act of 2005, stating that the Act clearly spells out the functions of the Mining Cadastre Office.
