The National Executive Council (NEC) on Thursday raised the alarm that the nation’s solid minerals, such as gold, are illegally mined and stolen, with no revenue accruing to the national treasury.
Consequently, NEC extended the terms of reference of the Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalisation, headed by the governor of Imo State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, to include illegal mining in the solid mineral sector.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the council meeting, chaired by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Senator Uzodimma said that after his Committee presented the report on crude oil theft, NEC extended the terms of reference to cover theft and illegal mining in the solid minerals sector.
He summarised key NEC outcomes and outlined steps to curb crude oil theft and solid mineral pilferage.
Uzodimma highlighted a renewed, collaborative push across government and industry to safeguard national revenue and improve production security.
He cited a sharp rise in daily crude output from pre-2023 levels of about 700 to 800 barrels per day to more than 1.7 million barrels per day, attributing the improvement to a sustained, multi-stakeholder security and operational framework.
He said the success story was the result of an enhanced collaborative approach involving regulators, operators, governors of crude-producing states, security agencies, the Navy, and consultants from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The governor said the effort secured widespread buy-in and a robust security presence along production and export corridors.
According to him, NEC expanded the Inter-Ministerial Committee’s remit to include solid minerals, recognising the heavy losses from illegal mining and mineral theft that bypass official revenue streams.
The panel will now coordinate with other agencies to ensure solid minerals—such as gold and related resources—contribute to national revenue.
“So our report today was to appraise NEC on the activities of the Committee. And NEC received our report with satisfaction and expanded our Terms of Reference also to include solid minerals, as our solid minerals are being mined and stolen, and not adding to national revenue.
“So from now on, our Committee will be working with other government agencies to look at how to ensure that the revenue of the country arising from solid minerals like gold and other forms of solid minerals is not allowed to be stolen. So it is a thing of joy that we’ve done well.”
On offshore and creek security: Uzodimma emphasised strengthening security across all creeks and offshore regions, aiming to deter illegal entries and exits of vessels at export terminals, stressing that it is designed to safeguard both production sites and export infrastructure.
Asked to disclose the terms of reference on solid minerals theft and the timeline for the Committee to submit its report, the governor was circumspect.
“The reason for the decision taken by NEC today. It is the same concern about illegal mining activities in the country and the attitude of stealing our solid minerals without records or accounting for them in our revenue generation. That is why NEC, in their wisdom, today extended our times of reference to cover the scope that will get us to look into what is happening in that sector.
“I’ll be sounding prophetic if I tell you what is happening there. We will explore all avenues and use all available methods to determine the best way to address your concerns, which are also those of many Nigerians today. So that is about that.
“For timelines, well, when we get to the theatre, we know the type of operation and surgery that is required, we’ll be able to come back to the council.”
