The federal government said mining and quarrying companies issued licences since 2024 have December 31 as the deadline to conclude community development agreements (CDAs) with host communities.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, gave the directive in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Thursday in Abuja.

This is coming after a performance review of mining companies’ compliance with CDAs for the first half of 2025, as presented by the Mines Environmental Compliance (MEC) Department of the ministry.

Mr Alake said that companies that defaulted on the deadline would be sanctioned and could result in revocation of their licences and payment of reparations for minerals extracted.

He said that the report showed that though 74 new mineral titles were issued by the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) in the first half of 2025, only 24 CDAs were signed.

According to him, in 2023, the MCO issued 960 small-scale mining licences, 391 quarry licences and 37 mining leases, totalling 1,388 titles, all of which should have signed CDAs before commencing extraction.

He stated, “In 2024, the MCO issued 728 small-scale mining licences, 198 quarry licences and 28 mining leases, totalling 954 mineral titles. The licence holders were obliged by law to engage host communities and sign CDAs before beginning operations.’’

The minister said that the wide margin between the thousands of mineral titles issued with only 342 signed CDAs was alarming, underscoring the urgent need to enforce compliance.

He stated, “Under our watch, responsible mining, marked by compliance with international environmental, social and governance standards, shall be the rule. We will not allow a situation in which companies rush to mine without first sitting down with the host communities to agree to execute projects and programmes that will address their needs. We have penalised companies that owed annual service fees by revoking their titles.
Refusal to protect the Nigerian people by agreeing with them on what the communities will gain from the mineral exploitation of their land is criminal expropriation and an unpardonable injustice.’’

Mr Alake urged communities to establish quality negotiation teams, including retired professionals who could bring their expertise to secure legacy projects and programmes that would benefit youths, women and the community at large.

He cautioned community leaders and traditional rulers against making compromises that undermined CDA negotiations by demanding personal gifts from companies to the detriment of their communities.

He stated, “Some recommend contractors who do shoddy projects and pocket what the communities should benefit from.’’

He commended the MEC’s Director, Vivian Okono, for shutting down three companies, namely Istanbul, Venus, and Cornerstone, in August for delaying CDA negotiations with their host communities.

He said, “That should be a clear signal to others that it is no longer business as usual.”

(NAN)