The Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have pledged to collaborate more closely to ensure that only duly registered mining companies that comply with statutory obligations, including the filing of annual returns, continue to operate in the sector.
This resolution was reached during a courtesy visit by the CAC Registrar-General, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), to the Director General of MCO, Engr. Obadiah S. Nkom, at the Cadastre Office headquarters in Abuja.
Welcoming the delegation, Engr. Nkom expressed appreciation for the visit and reaffirmed MCO’s commitment to strengthening inter-agency collaboration. He pledged the agency’s readiness to provide the CAC with accurate data on companies that are in full compliance with annual filing requirements.
Nkom lauded the CAC’s broader efforts to promote good corporate governance and transparency across various sectors, noting that the MCO was already working closely with other regulatory bodies such as the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), NEITI, NFIU, EFCC, NSCDC, DSS, and the Nigeria Police.
He also highlighted MCO’s migration to the fully digitised eMC+ platform, launched in November 2022, describing it as a transformative tool for transparency, efficiency, and real-time access to data.
“The efforts of the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, have significantly repositioned the sector,” Nkom said. “As a result, the MCO recorded an unprecedented revenue of N10.9 billion between January and April 2025.”
According to a statement by Mrs Okeke Grace Amara, head of press at the MCO, Nkom commended President Bola Tinubu and Minister Alake for driving reforms that have made Nigeria’s mining industry globally competitive.
In his remarks, the CAC Registrar-General, Magaji, stressed the legal foundation of the partnership between the two bodies, referencing their establishment under Section 8 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and Section 5 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act.
“We are here to strengthen collaboration and enforce compliance in line with the provisions of the law,” Magaji said. “We want to ensure that only companies with active and legal standing benefit from licenses and privileges granted by the government.”
He further stated that mining companies must comply with CAC regulations, particularly the timely filing of annual returns, to be eligible for and retain MCO-issued licenses. According to him, “All licenses issued by MCO are to be granted only to entities duly registered and active in CAC’s records.”
The meeting concluded with both agencies agreeing to develop modalities for data sharing, joint regulatory enforcement, and the creation of a real-time information-sharing system. These steps, they said, are aimed at strengthening legal and procedural frameworks and ensuring full compliance across Nigeria’s mining sector.
