MCO breaking the barrier with N9.384bn generated revenue in 3 years
As a key growth facilitating unit within the nucleus of the Nigerian solid minerals sector, the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) has continued to reorganise and restrategise in recent years. ABAH ADAH reports :
The reforms witnessed in the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) in the last few years is having multiplier effect as Nigeria’s mining and minerals sector is showing signs of recovery–a plus to the federal government’s quest to diversify the economy away from its dependence on oil.
Once upon a time, several decades ago, up to the early post-colonisation era, the solid minerals sector in Nigeria was one of the pillars of the economy, even up to the late 1970s such that the sector which could not boast of any tangible contribution to the nation’s GDP in this present time was contributing not less than 5 percent.
This glory the sector enjoyed gradually died down as government’s attention was shifted to the oil sector, perhaps because of the relative ease in exploiting and making brisk business out of oil.
After decades of neglect, there are noticeable evidences that things are again looking up in the Nigerian solid minerals sector courtesy of the reform policies and programmes of the federal government being implemented at all levels in the sector with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in the centre of it all.
Coming on board seven years ago, the current President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration announced a robust economic reform to diversify the economy, which had remained based on oil to the detriment to other equally resourceful sectors, through agriculture and solid minerals sectors. And as the reforms began to advance, the COVID-19 pandemic showed up, causing untold set-back to plans and programmes around the world.
But worthy of note is that in spite of the negative socio-economic impact of the long neglect of the sector and the COVID-19 in Nigeria, some agencies and parastatals held their head high up, pushing through the challenges and getting results. MCO is one of such.
With the foregoing coupled with budgetary constraints and other challenges at the headquarters and the newly created zonal offices, the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), under its Director-General, Engr Simon Obadiah Nkom, has disclosed that as at the end of last year, it generated a record revenue of N9.384 billion within a period of three years.
Seven years into this administration, the mining sector in particular has received adequate attention after several years of abandonment.
The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in its effort to put the sector in its rightful place came up with a road map which, today, is begining to yield the desired fruit.
The road map, which is being meticulously followed under the leadership of the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, and the Minister of State, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, has made the sector attractive to investors and has placed the sector on the path of recovery, growth and development.
The 2007 re-enacted the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act vested the ownership and control of all lands in which minerals are found in commercial quantities in the government of the federation thereby prohibiting unauthorised persons from exploration or exploitation of these mineral resources.
The right to explore or exploit minerals in Nigeria is evidenced by the grant of a mineral title which can be granted to an eligible applicant under the Act in accordance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations (NMMR) and after the submission of an irrevocable consent form by land owners or occupiers.
The granting is under the jurisdiction of the MCO, an agency supervised by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, which is responsible for the administration and management of mineral titles and the maintenance of cadastral registers.
MCO, as an agency issues, grants, suspends, and upon written approval of the minister, revokes any mineral title where a titleholder fails to pay a prescribed fee such as the annual fee.
It also keeps a chronological record of all applications for mineral titles in a priority register, which ensures the agency treats all applications on a first come first served basis and equally applies the principle of ‘use it or lose it’ to mineral titles.
Also, it is noteworthy to know that no title can be revoked without giving a prior notice of 30 days to any defaulter, sent to a registered address.
So, barely 13 months to the 2023 general elections and given the continuous zeal of the current administration to diversify the economy through the non-oil sector, the MCO more revenue generation should be encouraged and supported.
Nkom, while having a round table media chat with selected journalists in his office, in Abuja, explained that the right to search for or exploit any mineral in Nigeria is governed by different mineral titles.
He listed the titles obtainable in the country to include the Reconnaissance Permit (RP), Exploration Licence (EL), Small Scale Mining Lease (SSML), Mining Lease (ML), Quarry Lease (QL) and the Water Use Permit (WUP).
On revenue generation, he maintained that in 2019, N2.580 billion was generated for the federation account, while for 2020, which was the period of the pandemic, MCO surprised everyone by generating N2.303 billion, despite the lockdown.
While giving a breakdown of revenue generated by the office, Nkom, who was appointed on January 11, 2019, stressed that though the agency has been generating revenue for the government but at a time when everyone was battling the effects of Covid-19 pandemic, the MCO was able to generate the sum of N2.13 billion in 2017, which though dropped sharply to the sum of N1.55 billion in 2018.
According to him, in 2019, the office raised the ante by N2.58 billion which was the second highest since inception of MCO in 2007 and despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
He, however, said in the first quarter of 2021, from January to May, it was able to rake in N2.016 billion while at December 31, 2021, the revenue generated rose to N4.3 billion, which was the highest revenue generated ever by the office.
On mineral titles, Nkom observed that: “Presently, 7018 valued titles are active. If I give you an overview of the entire statistics from inception, I think it will guide us by giving us a picture of what we are talking about because statistically, over 34,000 applications have been received from inception.”
He added that 15,483 applications were rejected, 4,997 revoked while 6,588 active titles are presently in existence.
“There is an increase in Mineral Title Application submission, increased revenue generation – N4,301 billion organizational growth – establishment, and operationalisation of MCO offices in the six geo-political zones of the country.
The MCO boss also noted: “We currently collaborating more closely with other departments and agencies of the Ministry (MID, MEC, ASM, NGSA etc) specifically Mines Inspectorate Department Job creation. A total of 38 staff were employed in the upgrade of the SIGTIM software to the web-base Online Mineral Title Administration and Management system – eMC+Activation and Integration of e-Recording and Archiving of Mineral Title documents.
In the light of this performance, players in the sector have, however, urged the federal government to do a rethink and concentrate on solid minerals to diversify the economy to increase its revenue base as prices of oil dwindle daily.
They stated in particular that for the solid minerals sector where the country is blessed with about 44 minerals, there is need to invest in accurate data gathering in order to attract the right investors.
Looking forward to the this year 2022, Nkom stated that the concern of the MCO is to consolidate on the gains so far while upholding transparency, security of tenure, and non-subjectivity so as to attract the needed investments in the sector.
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