The three tiers of the Nigerian government has been estimated to be losing about N50 trillion annually from untapped resources in the nation’s soil.
The estimates are monies that should have accrued to the federation account from royalties, taxes, charges and other fees from companies and individuals operating in the solid mineral sector if the Federal Government had paid enough attention to the development of solid minerals in the country.
The country is also estimated to be losing about N8 trillion annually from untapped gold.
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, audit report of 2012 suggests that there are about 40 different kinds of solid minerals and precious metals buried in Nigeria soil waiting to be exploited.
The commercial value of Nigeria’s solid minerals has been estimated to run into hundreds of trillions of dollars, with 70 per cent of these buried in the bowel of Northern Nigeria.
President of Miners’ Empowerment Association of Nigeria, Sunny Ekosin, revealed that Nigeria loses a whopping N8 trillion annually in unexploited gold alone.
He added that Ajaokuta remains the key to Nigeria’s industrialization and getting it back to work should be priority for President Buhari and his team.
