National Assembly Seeks First-line Charge for Solid Minerals as Capital Releases Hit Zero

• Lawmakers warn inconsistent funding cripples mining diversification drive

•Alake says N865bn 2025 capital vote unreleased, urges legislative backing

•Senate slams ‘abysmal’ funding as women affairs minister seeks higher budget

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The National Assembly yesterday moved to grant the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development first-line charge status after it emerged that capital releases to the sector for 2025 stood at zero, a development lawmakers described as a major setback to Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda.

Similarly, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, yesterday, asked the Senate to approve an upward review of the N134.2 billion proposed for her ministry in the 2026 fiscal year, even as lawmakers decried what they described as “abysmal” releases for the ministry’s 2025 budget.

At a budget defence session in Abuja, members of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Solid Minerals Development expressed alarm that despite huge appropriations, the ministry received no capital disbursement in 2025, with only 50 per cent of its overhead allocation released as of January 31, 2026.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, told lawmakers that the zero release of N865.06 billion earmarked for capital expenditure in the 2025 fiscal year had stalled critical infrastructure, exploration and sector development projects.

He warned that without guaranteed funding through first-line charge status, where statutory allocations are automatically released from the Federation Account, like priority sectors, the solid minerals sector would remain hamstrung by Treasury delays and shortfalls.

Alake said, “This is the most critical issue because inconsistent releases were undermining efforts to reposition mining as a key driver of economic growth, job creation and foreign investment.”

First-line charge status would insulate the ministry’s budget from bureaucratic bottlenecks and ensure predictable funding, a move lawmakers said was necessary if Nigeria was serious about unlocking the vast potential of its mineral resources.

Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Ekong Sampson, described the zero capital release as, “worrisome” and fundamentally at odds with the ambitious projections embedded in the national budget.

“How do you drive the harvest of the sector’s full potential with zero per cent release?” Sampson queried.

He noted that previous interventions, including a N1 trillion allocation to the sector, had raised expectations within the industry and among investors, but warned that without actual cash backing, “the budget framework is rendered quite unattractive.”

Other lawmakers echoed the call for urgent reform of the funding structure, arguing that solid minerals, like the petroleum sector, should enjoy first-line charge protection.

“Just like the oil sector, maybe we should try and see if we can make it a first-line charge. Because we can’t just appropriate figures and not pay. How can they develop the mining sector?” one member said.

Responding, Alake welcomed the proposal, describing it as “sweet music” and urging the National Assembly to provide legislative backing to make the arrangement feasible.

“If you legislate on it, it becomes doable. Then we will put on our executive machinery to ensure delivery,” he said.

Presenting the ministry’s 2026 budget proposal, Alake disclosed that the personnel, overhead and capital ceilings for the ministry and its agencies stood at N165.34 billion for the fiscal year.

For the main ministry, N1.79 billion was proposed for personnel costs, N1.57 billion for overhead and N45.54 billion for capital expenditure, totalling N48.9 billion, with the balance allocated to its agencies.

He described the 2026 proposal as a strategic pivot from “planning and potential” to “execution, production and revenue generation.”

According to him, the N156.34 billion sectoral outlay represents a critical investment designed to unlock solid minerals’ capacity to diversify the national economy, create jobs and significantly boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The minister said the proposed allocation prioritises surveillance, logistics and digital systems aimed at curbing illegal mining, improving revenue collection and creating a stable environment for responsible investment.

Despite funding constraints, Alake disclosed that the ministry exceeded its 2025 revenue target by 80 per cent, generating N30.23 billion as of December 31, 2025.

He attributed the improved revenue performance to reforms that formalised artisanal miners into cooperatives and corporate entities, enhancing their access to financing and regulatory compliance.

He said, “We were able to encourage them to form corporations so that they will no longer be labelled illegal miners.

“They will become formalised structures, attract financing and enable the government to demand and receive royalties, taxes and other civic obligations.”

The minister added that 388 mineral buying centres were established during the year under review, while artisanal miners received training and four high-risk abandoned mine sites were reclaimed.

He also highlighted the expansion of the ministry’s enterprise content management system, which drove digitisation efforts and earned it recognition as the most digitised ministry in the country in the past year.

Alake said Nigeria’s improved geological data acquisition had placed the country on the global mining map, attracting significant investor interest.

He cited the recent African mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa, where Nigeria’s exhibition booth reportedly drew strong attention from international investors.

“The acquisition of scientifically certified geological data puts us at par with mining giants globally. The little we have done has placed Nigeria on the map,” he said.

Lawmakers, however, maintained that without predictable and sustained funding, such gains could prove difficult to consolidate.

They assured the minister that the committee would examine the proposal for first-line charge status and explore legislative mechanisms to strengthen the sector’s funding architecture.

According to them, granting solid minerals priority funding would not only guarantee financial stability but also signal to global investors that Nigeria is committed to building a credible and competitive mining industry.

“If you invest more, you achieve more. The revenue profile has improved remarkably. It clearly shows that if you had more, you would have achieved much more,” Sampson said.

The committee pledged to work with the executive to develop frameworks that would ensure the sector delivers what lawmakers described as “huge harvests” for the country’s economy.

Senate Slams Abysmal Funding as Women Affairs Minister Seeks Higher 2026 Budget

Meanwhile, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, yesterday, asked the Senate to approve an upward review of the N134.2 billion proposed for her ministry in the 2026 fiscal year, even as lawmakers decried what they described as “abysmal” releases for the ministry’s 2025 budget.

The request was made during a budget defence session before the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, where the minister argued that increased funding would enable the ministry to address the growing and multifaceted challenges facing women and vulnerable groups across the country.

However, the committee pushed back, warning that poor cash backing of already approved appropriations must first be addressed by the executive before any upward review could be meaningfully considered.

Chairman of the committee, Ireti Kingibe, said while the panel was not opposed to increasing the ministry’s 2026 allocation, the pattern of negligible releases in 2025 raised serious concerns about budget implementation.

Kingibe said, “We are not against an upward review of what is earmarked for your ministry in 2026. But the problem of abysmal releases of funds, as reflected in your presentation on the 2025 budget appropriation and releases, is a serious concern to us. That problem must be addressed first.”

The minister had earlier presented details of the 2025 budget performance, revealing that out of N89.8 billion appropriated for capital expenditure, only N394 million was released, and that the amount came in December and was not utilised.

She further disclosed that the ministry also suffered poor releases under its overhead allocation. Of the N2.8 billion appropriated for overhead costs in 2025, only N471 million was released.

The figures sparked concern among members of the committee, who noted that such low levels of disbursement undermined planning, stalled projects and weakened service delivery to women, children and other vulnerable groups targeted by the ministry’s programmes.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim explained that the call for an upward review of the 2026 proposal was in line with the ministry’s expanding mandate and the need for stronger domestic resource allocation to tackle pressing social challenges, including economic empowerment, gender-based violence, and social protection.

“In line with the plan and the need for more domestic allocations in the 2026 fiscal year, an upward review of the budget estimates for the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development should be done,” she said.

For the 2026 fiscal year, a total of N134.2 billion has been proposed for the ministry. A breakdown shows that N2.1 billion is allocated for personnel costs, N131.2 billion for capital expenditure, and N810.9 million for overhead costs.

The proposed capital allocation represents the bulk of the ministry’s budget, reflecting its focus on project-based interventions and nationwide programmes aimed at improving the welfare and economic participation of women.

However, senators stressed that without timely and adequate releases, even an increased allocation would not translate into tangible impact.

Lawmakers observed that the pattern of late and partial releases, particularly the December disbursement of N394 million for capital projects, rendered implementation practically impossible within the fiscal cycle.

They warned that approving higher figures without addressing systemic bottlenecks in cash backing would amount to “budgeting on paper” without real benefits to citizens.

The committee therefore urged the executive to ensure improved budget performance in 2025 and more predictable funding flows in subsequent fiscal years to enable ministries to plan and execute programmes effectively.

The exchange underscores growing tension between ministries seeking larger allocations to meet expanding mandates and lawmakers concerned about the credibility and efficiency of budget implementation.

For the Women Affairs Ministry, the stakes are particularly high, as its programmes are designed to respond to rising poverty levels, unemployment among women, and other socio-economic pressures affecting households nationwide.

As deliberations on the 2026 budget framework gather momentum, the Senate’s position signals that improved fiscal discipline and accountability in releases may become a central condition for approving expanded spending proposals across ministries.

Whether the executive addresses the funding gaps highlighted during the budget defence could determine the fate of the ministry’s request for an upward review in the months ahead.