When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Dr. Dele Alake as Minister of Solid Minerals Development, many Nigerians, including myself, questioned the decision. Alake was widely known as a seasoned media strategist and communications expert rather than a mining professional, making the appointment appear unconventional.
However, Alake consistently maintained that he had been given a clear mandate by President Tinubu. According to him, the President believes that Nigeria's long-term industrialisation and economic diversification are closely tied to unlocking the vast potential of the solid minerals sector.
For many years before the Tinubu administration, Nigeria's mining industry was largely dominated by illegal operators and criminal networks that extracted valuable minerals with little benefit to the country. Large quantities of gold, lithium and other strategic minerals were reportedly smuggled out of Nigeria without proper regulation, taxation or local processing, depriving governments at all levels of substantial revenue and limiting the sector's contribution to the national economy.
Despite Nigeria's enormous deposits of commercially viable minerals, the sector remained one of the country's most underfunded ministries for years. Previous administrations, including those under former Minister Kayode Fayemi, were often criticised for failing to fully unlock the industry's economic potential.
The Tinubu administration has introduced a different approach. Rather than allowing the continued export of raw minerals, the government insists that investors add value locally through processing and refining before export. This value-addition policy is designed to stimulate industrial growth, create employment, encourage technology transfer and retain greater economic value within Nigeria.
The policy has attracted significant investor interest over the past three years. One of its most notable achievements is the establishment of major lithium processing facilities in Nasarawa State. The Federal Government recently commissioned what it described as West Africa's largest lithium processing plant, while another major lithium processing facility has also been developed in the state. Together, these projects represent investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars and are expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs while strengthening Nigeria's position in the global battery minerals supply chain.
Beyond lithium, the government has also announced plans for a $400 million rare earth processing project in Nasarawa State. Rare earth minerals are critical components used in electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, electronics and defence manufacturing, making the investment strategically important for Nigeria's industrial future.
Additional investments are also emerging across the country. Government officials have highlighted a $200 million lithium processing plant near Abuja, a major lithium processing project along the Kaduna-Niger corridor, and a gold refining facility in Lagos, all aimed at expanding domestic processing capacity and reducing dependence on raw mineral exports.
The administration is equally advancing mineral processing hubs across Nigeria's geopolitical zones. These include gold processing facilities in Kogi, a pharmaceutical minerals hub in Bauchi, a gold souk and jewellery processing centre in Kano, lead and zinc processing in Ebonyi, a barite processing hub in Cross River, and another mineral processing hub in Oyo State. Some of these initiatives began under the previous administration and have continued to receive support under President Tinubu.
According to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, reforms in the sector have attracted more than $2.6 billion in mining-related investments, with a strong emphasis on local processing, industrial development and job creation. The government says these investments are expected to expand manufacturing, increase government revenues and create tens of thousands of employment opportunities for Nigerians.
Supporters of the administration argue that these reforms demonstrate a deliberate effort to reposition the solid minerals sector as a major pillar of Nigeria's economy. While opinions on the Tinubu administration remain sharply divided, proponents believe the ongoing investments and emphasis on value addition represent an important step toward reducing Nigeria's dependence on crude oil and building a more industrialised economy.
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