Mineral extraction and governance in the Nigerian Mining Industry: An examination of regulatory conflicts amongst Nigeria’s three tiers of government

Abstract

Nigeria’s abundant mineral potentials can be harnessed to significantly contribute to her socio-economic development if the regulatory framework of the Nigerian Mining Industry (NMI) is properly articulated and implemented, devoid of the regulatory conflicts that have been observed amongst various regulatory and government entities. This article analyses a 2019 – 2020 study undertaken by the Ministry of Mines and Steel development in the Federal Capital Territory and 17 out of the 36 States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which exposed mining sector-related regulatory conflicts amongst the Federal, State and Local Governments and their Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). The study also revealed that, despite certain extant Constitutional and statutory instruments vesting the control of minerals and mining activities on the Federal Government and its Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the implementation of other national and subnational statutory instruments has generated regulatory conflicts and controversial interferences in the governance of mineral resources in the country. This development has led to adverse political and socio-economic implications and outcomes. Thus, after an in-depth consideration of these regulatory conflicts and its implications, the article recommends, among other salient solutions, the amendment and/or repeal of all applicable mining statutes and regulations to remove these regulatory conflicts, and this will better position the NMI on the path to restoration and ultimately surpassing its glorious past.