Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, said Nigeria’s mining sector attracted over $2.6 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the last 30 months, attributing the inflow to reforms introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

He observed that the government’s efforts to de-risk the mining environment and strengthen investor confidence were beginning to yield tangible results, noting that local value addition has now become a central condition for mineral licensing in the country.

Speaking in Abuja during the commissioning of the headquarters of Kursi Group, established by Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki Gambari, Shettima declared that Nigeria was no longer willing to remain “a warehouse of raw materials.”

According to him, the country is positioning itself as a global destination for mineral refinement, beneficiation and industrial growth driven by value addition.

Highlighting the importance of local processing to national development, Shettima said enterprises refining gold and processing lithium within Nigeria would accelerate the country’s industrialisation drive and strengthen its participation in the global green energy transition.

The Vice President further stressed that economic power is built on a nation’s ability to maximise the value of its natural resources.

Following the commissioning, Shettima, alongside Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and other dignitaries, toured the facility, which houses a refining factory and a modern minerals marketing and tracking platform.

The event attracted investors in the mining sector, as well as traditional and religious leaders from Kwara State and other parts of the country.