Taraba state’s long standing ambition to transform its vast mineral deposits into a major source of investment, employment and government revenue has received a significant boost, with the federal government pledging institutional support to position the state as a leading mining destination in Nigeria.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Henry Alake, made the commitment in Jalingo on Saturday during the Taraba State Solid Minerals Investment Roundtable 2026, an initiative aimed at attracting investors and opening new opportunities in the state’s mineral resources sector.
The minister’s declaration, as made known by Miners who spoke will our reporter, signals growing federal government interest in Taraba’s mining potential at a time when states are increasingly being encouraged to look beyond traditional sources of revenue and exploit their natural resources to drive economic development.
For Taraba, the challenge is no longer simply identifying mineral deposits scattered across its communities, but converting those deposits into commercially viable assets capable of attracting long-term private investment.
Alake drew a distinction between having mineral deposits and developing them into productive assets, warning that the presence of minerals in the ground does not automatically translate into wealth or development.
“A mineral occurrence is not the same thing as a mineral asset,” he said, urging the state government to move beyond identifying mineral occurrences and concentrate on developing projects that can attract serious investors and ultimately reach production.
The minister specifically advised the state government to establish a clear and bankable mineral investment pipeline, rather than spreading its resources thinly across several projects without taking any to completion.
“Devote your energy to a few mineral projects. Only that project will change the perception of investors. Take one project and finish it to production level,” Alake advised.
Alake, however, expressed confidence in Taraba’s prospects, describing governor Agbu Kefas as a state leader whose approach to governance and economic development is aligned with the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“What governor Kefas is doing in Taraba state is synonymous with President Tinubu’s transformative agenda,” the minister said.
He said the federal government would tread every legitimate path to provide institutional support for Taraba, arguing that mining development requires cooperation between the Federal Government, state authorities, regulatory institutions, investors and host communities.
According to him, policies and pronouncements alone cannot develop the mining sector, stressing the need for coordinated action, clear institutional responsibilities and an investment-friendly regulatory environment.
The minister also called on mining investors to look towards Taraba and explore partnerships with the state, urging them to bring capital, technology, technical expertise and international experience needed to move the sector from potential to production.
For investors, Alake said, clarity and transparency would remain critical considerations. He therefore stressed the need for those responsible for various aspects of mining development to maintain clear roles and responsibilities, noting that such certainty would boost investor confidence.
The minister also linked the development of the solid minerals sector to the broader economic reforms of the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, which he described as
a difficult but transformative decision.
According to Alake, President Tinubu “took the bullet” for Nigerians by removing the subsidy, arguing that the measure was necessary to address economic leakages and loopholes that had benefited certain interests under the previous system.
He maintained that the reforms were already creating the foundation for a more productive Nigerian economy, in which natural resources could play a greater role in generating jobs, investment and sustainable revenue.
But while the federal government is promising institutional support, the responsibility of creating an attractive investment environment also rests heavily with the Taraba state government.
Governor Kefas, speaking at the investment roundtable, reaffirmed that solid minerals development is one of the priorities of his administration and said the state was richly endowed with mineral resources capable of transforming its economic fortunes.
Kefas said his administration was determined to move the state away from irregular and informal mining towards a properly regulated and licensed mining industry.
“Our direction is that we want to move from irregular mining to licensed mining. We want mining that protects our environment,” the governor said.
The governor’s emphasis on licensed mining also highlights the need to balance economic exploitation with environmental protection, particularly in communities where unregulated mining activities can damage farmland, water sources and local ecosystems.
Kefas assured investors that his administration would provide an enabling environment, including security and other necessary government support, to make Taraba attractive to credible mining companies.
He also pledged to work with the Federal Government and other stakeholders to ensure that mining activities generate tangible benefits for host communities rather than merely extracting resources from the state.
The convergence of the federal government’s institutional commitment and the state government’s renewed push for responsible mining could mark a turning point for Taraba’s mineral sector if translated into concrete projects.
For a state blessed with significant mineral potential, the immediate test will now be whether government and investors can move from conferences and investment promises to exploration, financing, processing and actual production.
As Alake noted, the emergence of even a few successful, transparent and commercially viable mining projects could change the perception of Taraba and demonstrate that the state’s mineral wealth can become more than an occurrence beneath the ground—it can become an engine of sustainable economic development.