The Federal Government has given mining and quarrying companies up till December 31, 2025, to conclude their Community Development Agreements with host communities or risk severe sanctions, including revocation of licences and reparations.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, the warning by the minister, Dr Dele Alake, followed a review of companies’ compliance with CDA requirements in the first six months of the year.

The statement read, “Mining and quarrying companies licensed by the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office since last year are expected to conclude the Community Development Agreements with host communities on or before December 31, this year.”

According to the Ministry’s Mines Environmental Compliance department, 74 new mineral titles were issued in the first half of 2025, but only 24 CDAs were signed.

READ ALSO:FG Captures Two Ansaru Terrorist Leaders

By law, holders of mineral titles are required to agree with their host communities on specific projects and programmes before commencing extraction.

Figures from the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office showed that in 2023 alone, 960 small-scale mineral licences, 391 quarry licences, and 37 mining leases were issued, totalling 1,388 titles.

However, only 342 CDAs have been signed to date, leaving a wide gap in compliance.

Alake described the shortfall as unacceptable, stressing that the current administration will enforce strict adherence to international environmental, social and governance standards.

READ ALSO:FG Predicts Heavy Rainfall, Flood In Seven States

“Under our watch, responsible mining, marked by compliance with international Environmental, Social and Governance standards, shall be the rule. We will not allow a situation in which companies rush to mine without first sitting down with the host communities to agree to execute projects and programmes that will address their needs. We have penalised companies that owed annual service fees by revoking their titles,” he said.

The Minister warned that companies found guilty of neglecting their obligations after the December deadline would not only lose their licences but also be compelled to pay reparations.

“Refusal to protect the Nigerian people by agreeing with them on what the communities will gain from the mineral exploitation of their land is criminal expropriation, and an unpardonable injustice. This administration is not going to treat any company found guilty after this deadline with kid gloves. Their licences will not only be revoked, they will be asked to pay reparations for the minerals carted away,” he added.

He urged host communities to establish robust negotiation teams, comprising retired professionals, to secure legacy projects and benefits for youths, women, and the broader population.

READ ALSO:FG Partners Traditional Rulers To Curb Proliferation Of Small Arms, Light Weapons In Nigeria

Alake cautioned traditional rulers and community leaders against undermining CDA negotiations by seeking personal favours or endorsing incompetent contractors who deliver substandard projects.

The Minister also commended the Mines Environmental Compliance department for shutting down three firms — Istanbul, Venus, and Cornerstone — last month for failing to finalise CDAs with their host communities.

“That should be a good signal to others that it is no longer business as usual,” he said.

READ ALSO:FG Captures Two Ansaru Terrorist Leaders

The PUNCH earlier this month reported that the Federal Government said more mining licences will be revoked as part of ongoing efforts to sanitise the solid minerals sector and protect investors from fraudsters.

The Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office, Obadiah Nkom, disclosed this during a live conversation on X (formerly Twitter).

According to Nkom, the clean-up exercise, which covers expired, speculative, and inactive titles, is necessary to make room for genuine investors and ensure compliance with the law.

He disclosed that the agency had identified approximately 4,709 licences, including 1,400 expired titles, 2,338 refused applications, and 971 notifications of grant where applicants failed to pay, leading to outright revocation by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.

In a move aimed at boosting the nation’s consumer credit system, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, on Thursday, launched a pension-backed loan scheme designed to empower retirees.

The initiative, launched in collaboration with Leadway Trustees and Optimus Bank, offers retirees access to loans starting from ₦50,000, with the maximum benchmark to be determined by the size of the pension income.

Nigeria’s pension system has undergone significant reforms over the past two decades, with the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and its subsequent amendments introducing the Contributory Pension Scheme to address decades of mismanagement and unpaid retirement benefits.

Despite these reforms, retirees often face financial difficulties, with limited access to credit and delayed payments, leaving many unable to meet urgent needs.

READ ALSO:Release Nnamdi Kanu For Medical Treatment, Ohanaeze President Begs FG

Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Abuja, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CREDICORP, Uzoma Nwagba, said the initiative would give retirees a new lease of life.

Nwagba noted that the scheme, launched under the theme “Empowering retirees with consumer credit,” covers both federal and state pensioners.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for his financially inclusive model of governance as enshrined in the Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that the pension-backed loan programme reflects the administration’s commitment to creating opportunities for all Nigerians.

These, he added, include senior citizens who, for long, have not benefited from consumer credit.

READ ALSO:FG Gives Criteria For Opening Bank Accounts

He said, “The programme leverages pension income, offering retirees tailored, low-interest loans that are both secure and sustainable.

“This first-of-its-kind product ensures that Nigeria’s senior citizens can access credit with dignity, without the burden of exorbitant rates or complex processes.

“Annuitants are the backbone of Nigeria’s progress, yet they have been sidelined in the credit ecosystem. This programme changes that narrative. By partnering with Leadway Trustees’ expertise in pension management, we are delivering a credit solution that is safe, affordable, and transparent. This is consumer credit redefined, inclusive, equitable, and empowering.”

The event, attended by stakeholders from the financial sector, pension industry, and annuitants’ associations, featured testimonials from early beneficiaries.

For instance, Amina Sule, a 68-year-old retired teacher, said, “For years, I wanted to start a small poultry business to stay active and support my family.

READ ALSO:FG Gazettes New Tax Reform Laws

“This programme gives me the confidence to borrow affordably, knowing my pension secures my loan. It’s not just credit, it’s hope and independence.”

Also speaking, a retired civil servant, Chukwuemeka Okeke, said, “Medical bills can be overwhelming. With this loan, I can cover my healthcare needs without stress. The process was straightforward, and I feel respected as a retiree.”

Consumer credit in Nigeria remains underdeveloped compared to global standards, where retirees in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom can easily access mortgages, healthcare, or small business loans backed by their pension or social security income.

In Nigeria, retirees have largely been excluded from such credit facilities, leading to widespread financial insecurity in old age.

READ ALSO:FULL LIST: FG Releases Approved Subjects For Basic, Senior Secondary Education

The Federal Government’s decision to introduce a pension-backed loan scheme through the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation marks the first structured attempt to integrate retirees into the country’s consumer credit ecosystem.

By leveraging pension payments as collateral, the initiative seeks to provide senior citizens with safe and affordable credit for healthcare, small-scale enterprises, and other personal needs.

The move is also in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which emphasises financial inclusion, poverty reduction, and economic empowerment.

Three royal families of Adeberu, Olufadi and Ayora/Tunwase of Fusengbuwa ruling house, Ile Nla, Agunsebi, Ijebu Ode have dragged the Ogun State Government, the former National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, Dr Kunle Hassan, the founder of Eye Foundation Hospital and two others before an Ogun State High Court sitting at Ijebu Ode over the leadership crisis rocking the ruling house.

According to the court filings dated September 17 and made available to journalists on Thursday, the representatives of the three royal families, Adedokun Ajidagba, Adeleke Adeyemi and Ademola Sonaya, specifically urged the court to stop Owoyemi from parading himself as the head (Olori Ebi) of the Fusengbuwa ruling house.

The Fusengbuwa ruling house is the next to produce the Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebu land after the demise of 91-year-old Oba Sikiru Adetona on July 13, after reigning for 65 years.

Adedokun, according to the documents filed before the court, asserted that Owoyemi has no ancestral link to the Ile-Nla compound in Agunsebi, the historic family house of Fusengbuwa.

READ ALSO:What Late Awujale Told Me – Tinubu

He listed the ruling house’s eight recognised branches as Olufadi, Ayora/Tunwase, Shenowo, Okuyandewo, Oshinuga, Adekenu, Adebiyi, and Adeberu.

The oil and gas businessman further claimed that Owoyemi hails from Ikoro-Ekiti and not Ijebu-Ode, a position he affirmed was corroborated by the late Awujale of Ijebuland, during a court proceeding at Ijebu-Ode in 2018.

Adedokun said his appointment as Olori-Ebi of Fusengbuwa was ratified on November 23, 2023, with official notification sent to the Ogun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and to the late Adetona.

He declared that he remains the authentic head of the Fusengbuwa ruling house and that the court should accede to the request of the three royal families and stop Owoyemi from parading himself henceforth as the head of the ruling house.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Awujale Of Ijebu, Oba Sikiru Adetona, Is Dead

The court is, however, yet to fix a date for the hearing of the suit

Recall that the former ICAN President had insisted that he remains the legitimate head of the Fusengbuwa ruling house by virtue of the Ibadan Court of Appeal judgement of 2024, which ruled in his favour and confirmed the fact that he had been the ruling house head appointed since 2013 after the death of Prince Fasasi Adeyemi

He stated that in 2011, he was appointed as the Deputy to the then head of the family, Adeyemi and by 2013, he was appointed as the Olori Ebi after the death of Adeyemi.

Owoyemi explained that after his appointment as the Olori Ebi of Fusengbuwa in March 2013, a splinter group had also appointed the late billionaire banker and founder of First City Monument Bank, Otunba Subomi Balogun, as the head of the same family.

READ ALSO:Why 91-yr-old Awujale Was Absent From 2025 Ojude Oba – Ogun Govt

He disclosed that he had challenged this anomaly at a High Court sitting at Ijebu Ode and that while giving his judgment in 2018, Justice Asenuga resolved two of the issues brought before the court in his favour but failed to declare him as the Olori Ebi of Fusengbuwa.

Owoyemi explained, “I approached the Court of Appeal sitting at Ibadan and on November 28, 2024, in a judgment delivered by Justice Binta Fatima Zubairu, resolved all seven issues brought before the court in my favour.”

In a Certified True Copy of the judgment, which was made available to journalists, the three Justices of the Court of Appeal agreed that the defendants failed to prove the allegation of fraud upon which the High Court of Ijebu Ode in 2018 had failed to recognise Owoyemi as the duly appointed head of the ruling family.

He said that according to a letter dated November 22, 2023 and sent to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ogun State, Ajidagba was appointed as the acting head of the ruling house pending the determination of the suit he filed against the 2018 court judgment.

READ ALSO:Omawumi Reacts To Timaya’s Claim Of Burna Boy Ordering Her, Waje Out Of Studio

Owoyemi disclosed, “As the Almighty God will have it, the Appeal Court upheld all my pleas, affirming my leadership of the ruling house since 2013.”

He revealed further that having been confronted with this immutable truth as dispensed by the Ibadan Court of Appeal, the other part of the ruling house, being led formerly by the renowned Ophthalmologist and founder of Eye Foundation Hospital, Dr Kunle Hassan after dialogue submitted to the decision of the court on Sunday, August 31, 2025, affirming his leadership of the ruling house.

The renowned accountant said that even the late Awujale, before his demise, called him back to the palace in February 2025 to mend fences with him, urging him to keep in touch constantly as one of the senior title holders in his government and a trusted ally.

He added that he remains a bonafide son of Ijebu land from Idowa Ijebu and that past attempts to distort history had been quashed by the November 2024 Ibadan Court of Appeal judgement

The Octogenarian urged every member of the ruling house to shun division, strife and avarice but cooperate with the leadership of the family for a rancour-free selection process for the next Awujale.