Kehinde Adegoke | Agency Report
Abuja: Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has called for the establishment of regional energy hubs to accelerate cross-border mining industrialisation, stressing that such corridors could unlock Africa’s vast mineral wealth and strengthen the global energy transition.
Alake made the call while speaking at a panel session themed ‘Critical Minerals in Africa: Meeting Global Demand’ on the sidelines of the 11th Powering Africa Summit (PAS) in Washington, D.C., United States.
This information was shared in a statement on Sunday in Abuja by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori.
He charged the U.S. and African nations to prioritise establishing the hubs, which he described as crucial to strengthening the supply chain for critical minerals essential to the global energy transition.
To support these efforts, the minister called for the creation of regional industrial corridors, drawing a comparison to the Lobito Corridor.
According to him, similar belts, such as the Lagos to Abidjan corridor, sAccording to him, similar belts, such as the Lagos-Abidjan corridor spanning Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the Walvis Bay Corridor linking Southern and Central Africa to global markets, could unlock vast mineral potential across the continent. ugh, driving infrastructure development, enhancing energy access and promoting regional integration.
For instance, the development of nuclear power in one West African country could serve an entire corridor, Alake noted.
With reliable energy infrastructure, local beneficiation, technology transfer, manufacturing, and cross-border industrialisation are more likely to follow.
“If three to five such corridors are developed in Africa, we would significantly advance industrialisation across the continent, creating a win-win outcome for both Africa and the West,” he said, summarising the potential benefits.
Alake went on to describe how strengthened governance structures, improved regulatory frameworks, digitisation of licensing, and enhanced ease of doing business have helped reposition Nigeria’s mining sector as a key driver of economic diversification.
He stated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration, through reforms implemented over the past three years, has ensured secure tenure for mineral title holders and thus provided the stability needed for long-term investment decisions.
He stressed that the government was scaling up the generation of scientific, internationally certified geological data to support informed decision-making by local and international investors.
The minister acknowledged there are challenges in the sector, including insecurity. But he said there has been significant progress due to the creation of mining marshals.
He said more than 350 suspected illegal miners, including foreigners, were arrested in a year. Over 150 are now being prosecuted. This shows Nigeria’s serious intent.
He said Nigeria was open to genuine investors who must strictly comply with local laws and regulations. ed mining equipment and full repatriation of profits after due payment of royalties and taxes.
He said they have made the mining sector safe and attractive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“Within the last two and a half years, we have attracted over 2.6 billion dollars in FDI into the sector,” he said.
PAS is an annual high-level international energy conference that focuses on strengthening the U.S.-Africa energy partnership. energy infrastructure development, investment strategies and the role of critical minerals in supporting the global energy transition.
The 11th PAS focused on the theme: ‘Powering the US-Africa Partnership: Energy Infrastructure, Critical Minerals and Investment Strategies.