Senator Natasha calls for transparency, full disclosure of mining agreements, revenues
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has urged the Federal Government to make public all agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed with investors in Nigeria’s mining and solid minerals sector, insisting that transparency must come before accountability.
In a statement from her media office on Sunday, the Senator representing Kogi Central made the call during a Senate session on solid minerals oversight, where she pressed the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to invoke the Freedom of Information Act and release all contractual documents to both the National Assembly and the public.
She emphasised that openness is key to earning citizens’ trust and avoiding the same mistakes that have haunted Nigeria’s oil industry.
“We would like them to be made available to Nigerians — all the various MOUs you have entered into,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said. “It’s from when you begin to disclose your engagements and contracts that we can begin to say our government is transparent. And it’s from transparency that Nigerians can begin to hold our government accountable.”
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A lawyer and development advocate, Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that accountability in the solid minerals sector was impossible without transparency, urging the ministry to leverage technology by uploading all relevant agreements on its website.
“We are in the digital age, and it won’t take much to publish all this information,” she added. “Nigerians deserve to know who is exploiting their resources and under what terms.”
Representing one of Nigeria’s most mineral-rich regions, the Senator linked her call for openness to the ongoing poverty in Kogi Central despite its vast mineral deposits.
“Kogi State, particularly Kogi Central, has over 52 solid minerals in commercial quantity. Yet we are people impoverished in the land of plenty,” she lamented. “Each time I meet with my communities, they ask when they will begin to benefit from these abundant minerals.”
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She also expressed dismay over revelations that gemstones such as ruby, emerald, and tourmaline are already being extracted in some states without significant revenue reaching the government.
Akpoti-Uduaghan cautioned the Federal Government against allowing the mining sector to fall into the same pattern of corruption and unregulated exploitation that has long plagued the oil industry.
While commending the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake, for his reform initiatives, she urged caution to ensure due diligence and accountability.
“It is very important that in the solid mineral sector, we must be careful,” she said. “His drive is commendable, but we must apply brakes to ensure we cross our T’s and dot our I’s.”
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The Senator also demanded a full breakdown of inflows and balances in the National Resources Fund, which receives 1.68 percent of special funds from the Federation Account.
“I would like one of you to explain how much we have generated over time into the National Resources Fund,” she said. “How much have we generated in the past three years, and how much do we have in there now?”
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