Nigeria is intensifying efforts to transform its underdeveloped solid minerals sector as international investors from Vietnam and Canada arrive to explore strategic partnerships in mining, energy, and infrastructure.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, described the visit of a high-powered delegation led by Mr Le Hoai Nam, Chairman and President of Allen Le & Partners Joint Stock Company (Vietnam), as a testament to growing global interest in Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.
“This visit signals the rising international confidence in Nigeria’s mineral wealth and aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Nigeria First’ agenda,” Dr Alake said. “Africa must begin to harness its own resources for the prosperity of its people.”
Despite its enormous potential, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector rich in gold, lithium, and other critical resources remains largely untapped. Historical data shows the country produced 1.4 tonnes of gold between 1913 and 1934. Today, the government aims to modernise the industry with strategic foreign partnerships and advanced technology.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Mr Le Hoai Nam expressed his company’s interest in investing billions of dollars across key sectors, including mining, green energy, infrastructure, and transportation.
“Our technologies, from nano-agriculture to clean mining, will help rewrite Nigeria’s economic story,” Mr Nam said. “We want to invest in skyscrapers, electric vehicle systems, mining value chains, and affordable airline services. It’s a new dawn for Nigeria.”
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The investment visit, scheduled from 26 to 29 May 2025, is being facilitated by Silicon Valley Nigeria Energy Development (SV-NED) Ltd, under the leadership of Amb. Amina Temitope Ajayi Labinjo, widely known as “Mama Diaspora.”
Amb. Labinjo noted that the initiative reflects years of advocacy for national development through private sector engagement. “It is time Nigeria begins to reap full benefits from its natural resources just as Vietnam rose from poverty to prosperity within one generation,” she said.
Mr Bede Kingsley Onyeocha, CEO of Allen Le & Partners, said the delegation intends to take advantage of Nigeria’s recent infrastructure improvements, citing the new airport rail link and positive engagement with government officials as encouraging signs.
“Nigeria is full of potential. We’re here to help realise that from mine development and transport infrastructure to affordable housing and renewable energy,” he remarked.
The visit highlights Nigeria’s strategic ambition to become a continental leader in resource-based industrialisation. With the right policies, partnerships, and technologies, the country hopes to end the decades-long reliance on raw resource exports and lead Africa into a new era of mineral-driven economic growth.
