The Nigeria Revenue Service has pledged transparent and fair administration of mining royalties under the new tax laws that transferred the collection of mineral royalties and related fees to the agency.

The agency also pledged to ensure transparency, fairness and accountability in the administration of the mining sector under the 2025 reforms signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement on Sunday by the Executive Director of the Government and Large Taxpayers Directorate of the NRS, Amina Ado, the agency said the assurance was given during a mining stakeholders’ workshop.

Ado said the reforms were designed to tackle long-standing challenges in the sector, including illegal mining activities, weak oversight and revenue leakages.

“Since the first of January this year, by the tax laws signed in June 2025 by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the collection of mineral royalty and other fees in the solid minerals sector have come under the purview of NRS,” she said.

She explained that while the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development remained the sector regulator and provider of geological, pricing and production data, operators would now have “one clear address for the fiscal obligation.”

“One framework. One assessment. One door to knock on. That is Nigeria Revenue Service,” Ado stated.

According to her, the new framework would reduce multiple and overlapping demands on mining operators and encourage compliance through a more predictable and transparent system.

“When many bodies may each lay a claim on the same operator, no single body carries the cost of over-reach and so the demands multiply, the burden becomes unknowable, and the sector retreats from view,” she said.

She added that the agency would administer the tax laws in a way that keeps the mining sector “alive, formal, and thriving — not just taxed.”

“We hear the concerns of the mining community. We will administer the tax laws in the spirit of a Service that wants the sector alive, formal, and thriving, not just taxed,” she said.

Ado noted that a major challenge confronting the sector over the decades was that much of mining activity remained outside formal government oversight.

“A government cannot assess what it cannot see. It cannot collect what it has not assessed. It cannot account for what it has not collected,” she said.

She warned that weak regulation had allowed illegal operators, foreign syndicates and armed groups to thrive in mining communities across parts of the country.

“In Zamfara, in Niger, in parts of Kaduna and beyond, the vacuum where formal authority should have stood did not remain empty. It was filled by illegal operators, by foreign syndicates working our gold and lithium with no licence and no accountability,” she added.

The former director urged operators to embrace formalisation, saying it would provide predictability, legal protection and improved security for licensed miners.

“Visibility is not only an obligation we ask of you. It is, in the end, a protection we owe you,” she said.

She assured stakeholders that the NRS would be guided by fairness and dialogue in implementing the reforms.

“We intend to meet it through clarity — you will know what is required of you, and when. Through fairness, like cases treated alike, whether the operator is a multinational or a registered cooperative of artisanal miners in Kebbi,” Ado stated.

She added that Nigeria’s mineral resources must be harnessed to build sustainable national industries and development.

“Our task, in our time, is to make sure that the gold of Zamfara and Osun, the lithium of Nasarawa, the tin that still lies in the soil of Jos, the limestone and the barite and the iron ore are harnessed in such a way that this generation of mineral wealth builds something that stays,” she said.

The Federal Government recently transferred the collection of mineral royalties and related mining fees to the Nigeria Revenue Service under the new tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu in 2025.Nigeria’s mining sector has operated for decades with low formal compliance, widespread illegal mining and minimal contribution to national revenue despite the country’s vast deposits of gold, lithium, tin and other solid minerals

OPay, a leading fintech company in Nigeria, has officially opened applications for the 2026 edition of its flagship scholarship programme, now called OPay Scholars, continuing its N1.2 billion, 10-year commitment to support education across Nigeria.

Applications for the Innovation Challenge will run from May 25 to June 14, 2026.

Students in tertiary institutions across

Nigeria can apply now as a team of five students via https://www.opayweb.com/innovation-challenge

Building on its strong impact in the previous year, OPay is expanding the programme to include an Innovation Challenge in partnership with Google and OPay Futures.

This addition is designed to empower students with practical skills, encourage problem-solving, and prepare them for real-world opportunities.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in Nigeria’s corporate landscape, OPay is going beyond traditional scholarship support by combining financial aid, technical skills training, innovation development, and career pathways into one programme.

The Innovation Challenge will reward outstanding ideas and solutions from students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

To participate, applicants must apply as a team of five undergraduate students from any tertiary institution in Nigeria. Each team is expected to identify a real-life problem and present a technology-driven solution to address it. Applicants must have downloaded the Gemini App and initiated basic prompts within Gemini. The grand prize winner will receive N10 million, the first runner-up will receive N5 million, and the second runner-up will receive N3 million.

Beyond the prizes, participants will benefit from a structured webinar and bootcamp. These sessions will focus on building practical skills, exposing students to industry knowledge, and preparing them for future career opportunities. Top participants will also gain access to OPay Futures for potential career opportunities with OPay and other partners.

Elizabeth Wang, Chief Commercial Officer, OPay, said: “Education is one of the most powerful tools for change. Through our N1.2 billion, 10-year scholarship commitment, OPay has continued to invest in the education and future of young Nigerians. With the expansion of the programme in 2026 to include the Innovation Challenge and OPay Futures, we are going beyond financial support to equip students with practical skills, innovation opportunities, and career pathways that will help them thrive in the digital economy and create meaningful impact in their communities.”

Commenting on the programme and partnership with Google, Dotun Adekunle, Chief Operations and Technology Officer, OPay, said: “Our partnership with Google on the Innovation Challenge strengthens the impact of the OPay Scholars Programme by giving students access to technology and tools that can help turn ideas into practical solutions. By integrating Google Gemini into the challenge, we are empowering young Nigerians to build relevant digital skills, solve real problems, and prepare for the future of innovation and work.”

Speaking of the partnership, Olumide Balogun, Director, West & East Africa, Google, said: “The most exciting innovations in Africa will come from young people solving local problems, and our role is to make sure they have the right technology to make that happen. By embedding Gemini into the OPay Innovation Challenge, we are giving Nigeria’s sharpest students a powerful and practical tool to test, refine, and scale their ideas.”

Since its launch, the OPay Scholarship Programme has continued to grow in scale and impact, supporting hundreds of students across Nigeria. With the introduction of the Innovation Challenge and OPay Futures, OPay is reaffirming its commitment to education, innovation, and youth empowerment.

Students from tertiary institutions across Nigeria are encouraged to apply and take advantage of this opportunity. Apply now via https://www.opayweb.com/innovation-challenge

For more information, visit www.opayweb.com and follow OPay on LinkedIn, @OPay NG on X, and @opay.ng on Instagram for updates.

About OPay

OPay was established in 2018 as a leading fintech company in Nigeria with the mission to make financial services more inclusive through technology. The company offers a wide range of payment services, including money transfers, bill payments, card services, airtime and data purchases, and merchant payments, among others. Renowned for its fast and reliable network and strong security features that protect customers’ funds, OPay is licensed by the CBN and insured by the NDIC with the same insurance coverage as commercial banks.

By David Torough, Abuja

Terrorists intensified attacks across North Central Nigeria at the weekend, killing three worshippers and abducting at least 15 others during a night vigil in Kwara State, while several passengers kidnapped along a highway in Kogi State reportedly escaped after their captors fell asleep in the forest.

In Kwara, gunmen stormed a prayer ground at Ori-Oke Ajaiye on the outskirts of Ikiran Village in Ekiti Local Government Area on Saturday night, opening fire on worshippers during a vigil and causing panic across nearby communities.

The Kwara State Police Command confirmed that three worshippers were killed while 15 others were abducted to an unknown destination.

The attack was reported by Pastor Adebayo Abiodun of Ijo Ajaye Ati Igbala, who was conducting the vigil when the assailants invaded the area, firing sporadically before fleeing through nearby forest routes.

Police Commissioner Adekimi Ojo described the assault as “Gruesome and barbaric,” saying tactical units, intelligence operatives, PMF personnel and drone teams had been deployed to rescue the victims and track down the attackers. Security agencies have also intensified bush-combing operations and intelligence gathering across the affected communities.

Residents said many families spent the night searching for missing relatives as fear spread across villages in the Ikerin/Ajuba axis. The latest incident adds to growing insecurity in Kwara South, where worship centres have repeatedly come under attack in recent months.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Kogi State, some passengers abducted by gunmen along the Itobe-Ajegwu-Anyigba road in Ofu Local Government Area regained freedom after reportedly escaping from captivity when their abductors slept off in the forest.

The attackers had ambushed two commercial buses, including one bearing Ebonyi registration number NKE 737 XA, and also abducted a motorcycle rider during the operation. Security operatives, local vigilantes and hunters reportedly launched a manhunt shortly after the incident, although the kidnappers initially evaded arrest.

However, three victims — identified as Micheal Adejo, Monday and Mariam Yakubu — later escaped and narrated how the heavily armed hoodlums, numbering about 10 and wielding AK-47 rifles and pump-action guns, marched passengers deep into the bush after robbing them of money, phones and valuables.

One of the escapees said they seized the opportunity to crawl away after noticing that some of the kidnappers had fallen asleep. The victims eventually found their way to a nearby village after trekking through the forest.

Security sources also disclosed that a suspect, identified as Monday Agi, had been arrested in connection with the attack and is currently in police custody, while efforts to rescue the remaining abductees and apprehend the fleeing gunmen continue.