The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda is the driving force behind ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s mining sector, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to reposition solid minerals as a major pillar of national revenue and industrial growth.
Alake made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the launch of the EMERGE (Early-stage Mineral Exploration, Research and Geoscience Empowerment) programme, where he said the administration’s push to unlock the country’s mineral wealth is anchored on a deliberate strategy to move Nigeria beyond oil dependence.
He said the reforms being implemented by the ministry are rooted in the President’s conviction that economic diversification must sit at the centre of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Everything we’ve achieved so far rests on a foundation laid by one man’s conviction, and that is His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR,” he said.
“He placed economic diversification at the very heart of his Renewed Hope Agenda, and he charged our ministry to make solid minerals a true pillar of that vision.”
The minister said this directive informed the development of a seven-point agenda aimed at covering the entire value chain of the solid minerals ecosystem, from exploration to investment facilitation.
“So, we crafted a seven-point agenda… and the seven-point agenda was designed to cover the entire landscape of the solid minerals ecosystem,” Alake said.
He added that the framework was designed not as a short-term intervention, but as a structural reform blueprint for long-term sector transformation.
Alake said the EMERGE (Early-stage Mineral Exploration, Research and Geoscience Empowerment) programme is a key intervention designed to deepen exploration activities, improve the quality of geological data, and reduce risks associated with mining investments in the country.
According to him, reliable and internationally certified geological information remains central to attracting both local and foreign investors into the sector, adding that EMERGE will help bridge longstanding data gaps that have slowed exploration.
“We are deliberately investing in the generation of credible, bankable data that investors can rely on,” he said.
“The EMERGE programme is about de-risking the sector and unlocking opportunities that have remained hidden for decades.”
Alake said the initiative would also strengthen partnerships with technical institutions and enhance capacity building for professionals in the mining ecosystem, ensuring that Nigeria is better positioned in the global critical minerals value chain.
