Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has committed to a transparent, fair, and accountable administration of mining royalties following the recent transfer of mineral royalty collection and related fees to the agency under new tax laws enacted in 2025.
This assurance was made public by Punch Newspaper report on Sunday 24 May, in a statement attributed to the Executive Director of the Government and Large Taxpayers Directorate of the NRS, Amina Ado, during a mining stakeholders’ workshop.
Ado explained that since January 1, 2026, the collection of mineral royalties and associated fees in the solid minerals sector has been under the jurisdiction of the NRS. While the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development continues to serve as the sector regulator and provider of geological, pricing, and production data, mining operators now have a single, clear point of contact for their fiscal obligations.
“One framework. One assessment. One door to knock on. That is Nigeria Revenue Service,” Ado emphasized.
The new framework is designed to reduce the multiple and overlapping demands previously placed on mining operators, thereby encouraging compliance through a more predictable and transparent system. Ado highlighted that when multiple bodies claim fees from the same operator without accountability, the burden becomes excessive and discourages formal sector participation.
She stressed that the NRS intends to administer the tax laws in a manner that supports a vibrant, formal, and thriving mining sector rather than merely focusing on taxation.
Addressing concerns from the mining community, Ado acknowledged the sector’s historical challenges, particularly the prevalence of informal mining activities outside government oversight. She warned that weak regulation has allowed illegal operators, foreign syndicates, and armed groups to exploit mineral resources in regions such as Zamfara, Niger, and parts of Kaduna.
“A government cannot assess what it cannot see. It cannot collect what it has not assessed. It cannot account for what it has not collected,” she said.
Ado urged mining operators to embrace formalization, which would bring predictability, legal protection, and improved security for licensed miners. She described visibility as both an obligation and a protection owed to operators.
The NRS executive director assured stakeholders that fairness and dialogue would guide the implementation of the reforms, ensuring clarity on requirements and equitable treatment for all operators, whether multinational corporations or artisanal mining cooperatives.
Highlighting the broader vision, Ado stated that Nigeria’s mineral wealth—including gold from Zamfara and Osun, lithium from Nasarawa, tin from Jos, and other minerals like limestone, barite, and iron ore—must be harnessed to build sustainable national industries and foster long-term development.
The Federal Government’s recent move to transfer mineral royalty collection to the NRS marks a significant step toward formalizing the mining sector, which has historically suffered from low compliance, widespread illegal mining, and minimal contributions to national revenue despite Nigeria’s rich mineral deposits.
The tax reforms was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and aim to address long-standing challenges in Nigeria’s mining sector, including illegal mining, weak regulatory oversight, and revenue leakages.
This reform is expected to enhance revenue generation, improve sector governance, and contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth under the 2025 tax laws framework.
