The National Assembly on Tuesday moved to grant first-line charge status to the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development after revelations that capital releases to the sector for 2025 stood at zero.
Lawmakers described the development as a major setback to Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda, warning that continued underfunding could undermine efforts to reposition the mining sector as a viable revenue source.
At a budget defence session in Abuja, members of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Solid Minerals Development expressed concern that despite huge appropriations, the ministry received no capital disbursement in 2025. They also noted that only 50 per cent of its overhead allocation had been released as of January 31, 2026.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, 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.
Alake warned that without adequate and timely funding, plans to attract investors and expand mining operations across the country would remain unrealised.
Similarly, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, appealed to the Senate to approve an upward review of the N134.2 billion proposed for her ministry in the 2026 fiscal year.
Lawmakers also decried what they described as “abysmal” releases for the ministry’s 2025 budget, stressing that inadequate funding was hampering programmes targeted at women, children and vulnerable groups.
The calls for improved funding come amid growing pressure on the Federal Government to diversify revenue sources and strengthen social development initiatives across the country.
