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The sector also contributed N814.59 billion between 2007 and 2021, with the 2021 earnings, the highest.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) made this known on Monday in Abuja, while unveiling its 2021 Solid Minerals Industry Report, tagged: “Impact built on blocking leakages to grow revenue’’.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, unveiled the report.

Akume was represented by Dr Maurice Mbaeri, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, SGF.

The report, the 12th in the series, covers actual payments by 1,214 companies operating in the sector and receipts from three key government agencies.

It covers the quantities of minerals produced, utilised and exported from the sector, reconciled the physical/financial transactions and undertook special verification on some processes.

Presenting the report, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary, NEITI, said the figure showed an increase of N60.32 billion or 51.89 per cent growth, when compared to the 2020 revenue flows of N116.82 billion.

This positive trend, he said, reflected a continuation of the upward positive trajectory observed in the sector over the past five years.

“This contribution, though a significant increase over past years, is still abysmal considering the potentials of the sector to the Nigerian economy,” he said.

Orji said the 2021 Solid Minerals report reviewed, ascertained, reconciled and reported all revenues and investment flows to and from government in the solid minerals sector.

He said the NEITI report also covered balances payable/receivable from financial inflows, tracked the funds and utilisation meant for the development of solid minerals in Nigeria.

According to Orji, the funds include Natural Resources Development Fund; Solid Minerals Development Fund; Ministry of Mines and Steel Development’s MinDiver Programme and Solid Minerals Development Funds under the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme operated through the Bank of Industry.

A breakdown of the revenues showed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service collected N169.52 billion; Mining Cadastre Office generated N4.3Billion while the Mining Inspectorate Department generated N3.62 billion.

He said the revenue to the federation account from the sector in the past 15 years, which was N818.04 billion was significantly low compared to the economic potential of the sector.

On Production, Orji said the report disclosed that the total volume of solid minerals used or sold in 2021 was 76.28 million tons with a royalty payment of N3.57 billion.

“The minerals with the largest production volume in the year under review are Granite, Limestone, Laterite, Clay and Sand.

“Dangote Plc accounted for the highest production with a total production of 28.8 million tons. Bua and Lafarge accounted for 8.4 and 4.3 million tons while Zeberced accounted for 3.3 million tons respectively.

“Ogun state recorded the highest production in the year under review, with a total of 17.5 million tons followed by Kogi state with 16.3 million tons and Edo with 8 million tons.

“The least production volume was recorded in Borno State with 25,500 tons,” he said.

The NEITI boss said a total of 2,045 licenses were issued with exploration licenses accounting for 840 (increase of 62.79 per cent), Small Scale Mining Lease, 771, Quarry Lease, 255, Reconnaissance Permit. 139 and Mining leases 40.

On Export, he said the total minerals exported in 2021 was 142.54 million tons with a Free on Board value of US$ 101.29 million, an increase of 138.57 per cent from the US$ 42.46 million reported in 2020 report.

He said China was identified as the principal destination of Nigeria’s mineral exports, accounting for 97 per cent and 88 per cent of the export volume and value while other destinations for Nigeria’s minerals included Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

On solid minerals contribution to the economy, he said the report revealed that the sector contributed 0.63 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while there was improvement compared to previous years where it contributed 0.45 per cent in 2020 and 0.26 per cent in 2019.

According to him, the sector has not yet reached its full potential in making a significant impact on the overall Nigerian economy.

He identified a total of N1.06 billion as outstanding company liability to government within the period under review as a result of failure of some companies to pay their annual service fees for the respective mineral titles.

Annual service fee is a statutory payment by mineral title holders for each cadastral unit on mineral titles.

In May, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal commenced its sitting with various justices presiding over the various petitions concerning the 2023 presidential election.

Five political parties including the PDP, LP, Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the Action Alliance (AA) had lodged separate petitions before the tribunal seeking to annul Tinubu’s victory.

The sitting of the five-man panel of justices is headed by the presiding justice, Justice Haruna Tsammani.

On the day of the final judgement, the five jurists will deliberate and possibly vote to take a final decision, in case there are disagreements on issues thrown up at trial.

The decision is, however, not final, as a displeased party can still appeal to the Supreme Court.

However, many lawyers agree that the Court of Appeal’s decision sets the tone of the final decision of the Supreme Court, either in concurrence or disagreement.

The judges presiding over the tribunal are:

1. Justice Haruna Tsammani – Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal

2. Justice Stephen Adah – Court of Appeal (Asaba division)

3. Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf – Court of Appeal (Asaba Division)

4. Justice Moses Ugo – Kano division

5. Justice Abba Mohammed – Ibadan Court of Appeal.

In this report, The Nation chronicles the profile of five eminent jurists who will deliver the verdict:

Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani

Justice Haruna Tsammani was born on November 23, 1959. He hails from Tafawa Balewa LGA of Bauchi State.

The judge obtained his LL.B degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1982.

He attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos for his BL in 1983, and started as a High Court judge in Bauchi State on September 17, 1998.

He was later elevated to the Court of Appeal on July 16, 2010.

He is the longest-serving Justice of the Court of Appeal among the five members of the panel. Tsammani has spent half of his 24 years as a judge on the Court of Appeal bench which he was elevated to in July 2010.

Tsammani delivered one of the judgements of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that affirmed the second term election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

He also delivered the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja that issued the order restraining the Rivers and Lagos state governments from taking action on their bids to collect Value Added Tax (VAT).

Justice Stephen Adah

Justice Stephen Adah who is the presiding Justice of the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal, was born on June 13, 1957. He hails from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Adah obtained his LL.B degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1981. He attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, for his BL in 1982.

He was appointed a judge of the Federal High Court on November 12, 1998, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on November 5, 2012. He served as a member of the three-man panel that granted Obi and Atiku’s motions to serve Tinubu their petitions by substituted means.

Adah delivered the lead judgement of a three-member panel that affirmed the conviction of a former Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, on 16 November 2018. President Muhammadu Buhari would later grant a widely condemned pardon to Dariye alongside a former governor of Taraba, Jolly Nyame, after their conviction and jailing had been affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Justice Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf

Justice Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf is the only female member of the five-man panel of the court. She was born on August 7, 1959, and hails from Oyo West LGA of Oyo State.

The judge obtained her LL.B degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1983. She attended the Nigerian Law School the following year for her BL certificate.

She was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Oyo State on January 30, 1997, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 2014.

Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo

At 57, Justice Boloukuoromo Ugo is the youngest among the judges on the panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court. He hails from Kolokuma/Opokua Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Justice Ugo obtained his LL.B degree from the University of Calabar in 1989, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL certificate. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State on March 21, 2006, and later elevated to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 201

Justice Abba Mohammed

Justice Abba Mohammed hails from Kano State. He was born on February 19, 1961.

He obtained his LL.B degree from the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1984, before proceeding to the Nigerian Law School in Lagos the following year, for his BL Certificate in 1985.

Justice Mohammed was appointed a judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in 2010.

After serving for about 10 years, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2021. He was the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Tribunal in 2019.

Civil Servants in the employ of Lagos State Government have pulled out of the two-day warning strike to be embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

NLC has said it would embark on two-day nationwide warning strike from Tuesday and Wednesday and would embark on indefinite strike if the Federal Government refused to alleviate the suffering of the masses.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has pulled out of the proposed warning strike.

Lagos State civil servants, being members of the TUC has decided not to join the strike.

A statement issued by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Lagos State Branch, told all its members not to embark on strike on Tuesday.

The statement signed by its Secretary, Aladetan Abiodun, reads: “PROPOSED 2-DAY STRIKE.

“This is to inform all members of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch that all affiliates of TUC will not be embarking on any proposed strike slated for Tuesday 5th September, 2023.

“We urged all our members to go about their normal business.”