….as revenue surpasses N50bn in 2025

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – IN a bid to boost easy of doing business in nation’s mining sector, the Federal Government, Friday, launched OneGov Enterprise Content Management System, ECMS, at the headquarters of Mining Cadastre Office, MCO, in Abuja.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, who launched the ECMS said it part of the reforms by the Tinubu-led administration to unlock the sector and drive deep transparency that attract investors and generate revenue for the country.

Alake also commended the dedication and commitment of the Director General, DG, MCO, Engr Obadiah Nkom and his staff in revenue generation that has surpassed expectations.

The OneGov ECMS an intelligent, sovereign platform is designed to eliminate paperwork, strengthen document security, streamline workflows and enhance service delivery.

Meanwhile, according to the Minister, the agencies under the Ministry are working tirelessly and that has translated into huge revenues generated due to the use of technology.

According to him, with technology and transparency-driven reforms the sector’s revenue generation leapfrogged from ₦28 billion in 2024 to over ₦50 billion in 2025.

He also gave himself as an example in the use of technology to carry out his duties seamlessly, with no delays, which in the past his table was crowded with physical files.

He said: “First of all, when we came in, we looked at the landscape and tried to identify the critical challenges and then go for solutions through creative reforms and new policy initiatives, all designed to sanitize the environment, ensure that we have a conducive and very free atmosphere for businesses and investors to come in and then create an ease of free movement because when you go into an environment and there is difficult business, you cannot attract investors into such an environment.

“I must congratulate, first of all, the Permanent Secretary, the Director General of the MCO, and all members of the MCO staff who have laboured very assiduously to make sure this event happens, to make sure that we really achieve this milestone.

“It really is a milestone in the area of technology application, and digitalization, and applying the objectives of the government.

“It is my real honour and privilege to launch this MCO OneGov Initiative for the benefit of humanity and for the glory of all my people.”

However, he (Alake) noted that it is important to build the capacity of staff of MCO on how to operate the gadgets for seamless workflow.

“But I know that there are challenges, and apart from the physical challenges, the most important challenge that I have identified, not just here in MCO, not just with the Ministry of Solid Minerals, but generally nationwide, is that challenge of mental development. Where you give people the best gadgets to work with if the requisite mental development is not at the same pace with that physical development, there is what we call social disorder, chaos, social anonymity, which can manifest in various forms.

“Some can manifest in the form of corruption at work, manifest in the form of laziness, indolence, laxity, lethargy, and inertia at the end of the day, all of which are very negative attributes that reduce in combination to reduce the efficiency and service delivery to people.

“So, I believe that nationally, and I’m never tired of saying this, we need a mental reorientation. While I’m up for this injection of technology into our sector, and to every sector of the economy, we must also learn how to adopt the right mental attitude, even in operating these gadgets, so that these gadgets can endure, and they can serve us the way we wanted them to serve us, without which we will be wasting our time”, he stated.

He also appealed to Galaxy Blackbone to ensure hitch-free internet services to the offices and officers who will use the gadgets.

Earlier, in his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, commended the Nkom-led MCO for the bold initiative and patriotism to change the narrative by showing “exemplary leadership and commitment to modernization in this age of AI and digital systems.”

Yabo further stated that, “As the first department under the ministry to go live, the MCO is raising the standard and providing the model for others to follow.”

Meanwhile, the PS expressed confidence in he OneGov system describing it as a secure, intelligent digital backbone capable of transforming governance that would make work and the working environment smarter and accurate.

“Our goal is to ensure every officer works smarter, faster and more securely, delivering greater value to citizens and investors”, he said.

In his remarks, the elated MCO Director General, Engr. Obadiah Nkom, explained that the 1Gov Application is more than a digital tool — it is a new governance framework for Nigeria’s public service. It enables: Faster approvals and reduced bureaucracy,Unified workflow and document management, Transparent, traceable transactions, Improved data security and integrity, Seamless collaboration across MDAs, Standardization of government operations.

He said: “For the MCO, this milestone adds another feather to our cap, it strengthens our mandate to deliver a mining title administration system that boosts investor confidence, supports economic growth, and enhances Nigeria’s global competitiveness as a secure mining jurisdiction.

“This milestone is not just for the Ministry or the mining sector. It is a milestone for the entire country.”

According to the MCO boss, the agency’s revenue generation was ₦6.17 billion in 2023 but increased to ₦12 billion in 2024, which had surpassed ₦30 billion in 2025, traceable to strong backup from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in terms of reforms, policy implementation and compliance-driven digitization.

A representation from Galaxy Backbone, Gana Nsuba, commended the MCO’s commitment and determination by “raising the bar.”

Nsuba also acknowledged that the agency had gone beyond expectation to key into the Federal Government’s OneGov Cloud agenda by going live.

“The MCO is demonstrating what is possible through leadership, collaboration and digital courage”, he said.

He also said Galaxy Backbone will continue its train and also provide technical support.