Nigeria’s transformative mining sector policies have generated over $800 million in new investments during 2024, establishing a continental model for mineral-based industrialization that neighboring countries are adopting.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s strategic interventions, particularly in the barite value chain, demonstrate how targeted local content requirements can build domestic industrial capacity while reducing import dependency.
Executive Secretary Felix Ogbe outlined the decade-long capacity-building program that culminated in prohibiting barite imports for oil and gas drilling operations, forcing exclusive procurement from certified local processors through the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate system.
“Today, barite importation for drilling is prohibited in Nigeria. That didn’t happen by accident. It was made possible by deliberate policy instruments, stakeholder partnerships, and enforcement frameworks,” Ogbe emphasized during the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit.
The policy framework extends beyond barite to encompass steel and pipe manufacturing, including 2022 directives requiring in-country sourcing of bare line pipes and oil tubular goods. These measures are supported by the $350 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, managed with the Bank of Industry.
Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake revealed that government mining revenues surged from ₦6 billion in 2023 to ₦38 billion in 2024, a six-fold increase attributed to enhanced licensing procedures, value-addition enforcement, and new industrial investments.
The Nasarawa lithium battery plant, valued at $100 million, represents the policy’s tangible impact, while a $600 million lithium refinery near the Kaduna-Niger border demonstrates sustained investor confidence in Nigeria’s mining transformation.
Liberia’s Petroleum Regulatory Authority Chairman Jake Kabakole described Nigeria’s local content regime as a “continental model,” encouraging African nations to adapt similar legal and institutional frameworks for comparable economic outcomes.
Indigenous Nigerian firms now contribute 15% of oil production and 60% of domestic gas supply, with engineering companies like Dormanlong, Saipem, and Aveon Offshore executing complex projects previously dominated by foreign multinationals.
The NCDMB’s partnership with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria ensures only certified Nigerian engineers work on major projects, while customs alert systems prevent importation of locally-produced goods including cables, paints, and valves.By Aliyu Abdullahi Ibrahim
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