…..Laments Impoverishment Of Her People
Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has sued for a total accountability and transparency in the operations of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, just as she tasked the Ministry of Solid Minerals to make all Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and contractual agreements public.
Speaking at the just-concluded Solid Minerals Ministerial–Legislative Retreat, the lawmaker emphasised that openness in the sector was key to restoring public trust and ensuring that host communities benefit from the country’s abundant natural resources.
“We would like them to be made available to Nigerians. All the various MoUs you have entered, we would like them to be made available to Nigerians — for us in the National Assembly and to Nigerians,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan urged the Ministry to publish details of its contracts, engagements, and MoUs on its official website, adding that such transparency would enable Nigerians to hold government officials accountable and help attract responsible investors to the growing solid minerals industry.
“We are in the age whereby people call upon transparency, transparency, transparency — because it’s from when you begin to disclose your various engagements and contracts that we can begin to say yes, our government is transparent.
“We cannot begin to demand accountability if transparency is not in place, or if the various MoUs are not made public on your website. We are in the digital age, and it won’t take much to publish all of this information”, Akpoti-Uduaghan said.
Alluding to her home state, Akpoti-Uduaghan decried that despite Kogi Central’s vast mineral deposits, over 52 in commercial quantities, its people remain impoverished.
“Kogi State, Kogi Central, we have over 52 solid minerals in commercial quantity. And we are people impoverished in the land of plenty. Each time I have an interaction with my communities, I am constantly asked: when, how are we going to begin to benefit from the abundant minerals?”
The senator recounted a recent conversation with a colleague that revealed, for the first time, plans for her constituency to benefit from the mineral wealth within its soil, a discovery she described as both enlightening and troubling.
“For the first time, I got to know that my community is going to benefit from the abundant minerals. Nigeria has ruby, emerald, tourmaline — and these minerals have been extracted and exploited. I do not think Nigeria derives a revenue from that,” she said, expressing concern about unregulated mining activities.
Akpoti-Uduaghan cautioned that Nigeria must avoid repeating the mistakes made in the oil and gas sector, where poor oversight and opaque dealings have led to massive losses and environmental damage.
“It’s very important that in the solid mineral sector, we must be careful. May I take this moment to applaud the efforts of the Honourable Minister — his initiative is driving speed but we must be careful in applying brakes so that we meticulously cross the T’s and dot the I’s, and we do not fall into the pitfalls that we have suffered in the oil sector,” she warned.
The Kogi lawmaker raised a fiscal concern that drew murmurs across the room: the management of the Natural Resources Fund, which receives 1.68% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
“I would like to have one of you sit in there to explain how much or to let us know how much we have generated over time into the Natural Resources Fund.
“Because I repeat again, 1.68% goes in every time from the special funds, which itself generates its own supply from the Federation Account. How much do we have? How much have we generated in the past three years, and how much do we have in there now?” She asked rhetorically.