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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has said the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are aimed at resetting Nigeria’s economy and preventing total collapse.
Speaking in Abuja during the 2026 NRS-MSMD Joint Stakeholder Sensitization for the North Central zone, Alake said the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 saved the nation from economic disaster.
The event was themed: “From Resource to Revenue: Aligning Solid Minerals Operations with the 2025 Tax Reform Act.”
Alake blamed Nigeria’s economic decline on the country’s shift from local production to massive importation beginning from the late 1980s, saying the development crippled industries, weakened the naira and led to widespread unemployment.
According to him, Nigeria once enjoyed a strong currency, recalling that in the early 1980s, one dollar exchanged for 80 kobo at the black market while the official rate stood at 52 kobo.
“We were importing everything importable, including toothpicks and orange juice, things we could produce locally,” he said.
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The minister also faulted previous administrations for allegedly failing to confront economic challenges, noting that Nigeria spent hundreds of millions of dollars importing non-essential goods while borrowing to pay salaries.
He stated that the Tinubu administration took difficult but necessary decisions to block leakages and stop economic mismanagement.
“What would have happened to Nigeria by September 2023 if fuel subsidy had not been removed? The economy would have crashed completely,” Alake said.
He further revealed that before the current administration took over, Nigeria resorted to borrowing to fund recurrent expenditure and also printed over N20 trillion locally due to financial pressures.
Alake likened the current reforms to efforts aimed at stopping the nation from sinking deeper into economic crisis, stressing the need to rebuild sustainable structures for long-term growth.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Faruk Yusuf Yabo, stressed the need to reposition the solid minerals sector for economic diversification, job creation and sustainable development.
He called for improved compliance, transparency and stronger collaboration with the Nigeria Revenue Service to eliminate leakages and maximize revenue generation from the mining sector.
