The Minister of Solid Mineral, Dele Alake, has said the country is committed to upscaling its solid mineral industrialisation and value addition as a nation.

Alake disclosed this at the 10th Nigeria Energy Forum (NEF) Conference and Exhibition with the theme: “Decade of Energy Transition for Economic Prosperity” held in Lagos. Alake, represented by Dr Obadiah Nkom, Director General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, said Nigeria’s mineral endowment is vast, yet its economic impact on the nation remains limited.

He said: “This conference is a strategic step to reposition the sector for sustainable growth and in alignment with our National priorities under Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu administration.

“The government is prioritising policies that will attract investments in mineral processing plants, refinery projects, and finished goods production within Nigeria.

“This approach will create jobs for millions of Nigerians, build local capacity, and position Nigeria as a competitive hub for critical minerals and mineralbased products in Africa.”

Engr Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), represented by Naboth Onyesoh, Director of Legal Services, said the objectives of the board are to promote and enforce the development of indigenous capabilities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

He said: “This involves encouraging local manufacturing, technology transfer, human capital development, and the utilization of locally produced goods and services.”

Mr Seye Bassir, Investment Director, AII On, said the Federal Government had a lot of policy around the energy transition and climate change.

He added: “What they need to do is to coordinate better and maybe consolidate all of those efforts into the right kind of instrument.”

Also, Ms Marit Kitaw, Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said key constraint to green mineral industrialisation includes limited infrastructure and energy access for processing.

Engr Michael Oluwagbemi, the Programme Director, Presidential Compress Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) said the initiative supported the establishment of 1,000 auto-gas conversion workshop by 2027.

The Director said the aim was to convert 250,000 vehicles annually creating 250,000 jobs and support training of 25,000 technicians.

In his remarks, Dr Daniel Adeuyi, the Chairman, NEF, said the 2025 NEF theme, followed successful engagement of over 8,000 global stakeholders and facilitation of U$70 million financing and facility for clean energy projects across previous editions.