Former Executive Vice Chairman of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, on Saturday disclosed that Nasarawa State has emerged as Nigeria’s hub for lithium mining and processing.
According to him, current investments in the sector are valued at $850 million.
Delivering a lecture titled “The Socio-Economic Importance of Lithium Mining and Processing for Nasarawa State Development” at the 2025 Engineering Week and Dinner/Award Night of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, Lafia Branch, Prof. Haruna said the feat was achieved through the visionary leadership of Governor Abdullahi Sule.
He described the state’s lithium revolution as “the single biggest leap in the state’s industrial history,” and praised Governor Sule as “a visionary engineer, industrialist and economist whose foresight has placed Nasarawa on the global energy map.”
Haruna noted that the governor’s emphasis on value addition, technology domestication and private-sector partnerships has repositioned Nasarawa as Nigeria’s model for resource-based industrialisation.
“Nasarawa is no longer a raw mineral exporter. With the establishment of lithium processing plants, the state now exports refined products and creates jobs, wealth and technical capacity for its people,” he said.
He added that investments by firms such as Ganfeng Lithium Company Limited, Avatar New Energy Materials Co. Ltd, Can Max Technologies Ltd, and Jiu Ling Lithium Mining Company Ltd, amounting to more than $850 million, would make the state a continental hub for lithium processing.
“When you sum up the commitments from Ganfeng Lithium Company Limited with about $250 million, Avatar New Energy Materials’ multimillion-dollar project, Can Max Technologies’ planned $200 million plant, and Jiu Ling Lithium Mining’s over $200 million investment, you are looking at more than $850 million in private capital already flowing into Nasarawa’s lithium sector,” Prof. Haruna said.
“That is unprecedented in the history of this state’s industrial development,” he added.
According to him, the lithium boom is already transforming communities. “The presence of these factories has opened new roads, improved electricity and water supply, and spurred small business activities in communities like Endo and Gudi,” he said.
Haruna also commended Governor Sule’s collaboration with NASENI, which established the Solid Mineral Machinery and Equipment Development Institute, in Nasarawa town to support local technology. “This kind of synergy between governance and engineering innovation is the future,” he noted.
He revealed that the Nasarawa State Government is set to receive $15 million over ten years from Ganfeng Mining Company Limited as part of its revenue-sharing arrangement, while the Endo community will benefit from $500,000 in local development funds.
“Beyond the money, this partnership is a transfer of knowledge and opportunity,” Haruna said, adding that over 100 Nasarawa citizens are currently undergoing lithium refining training in China.
The professor explained that lithium’s uses extend far beyond batteries, with applications in renewable energy, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace technologies. “In the next decade, lithium will be as strategic as crude oil once was,” he said.
Haruna urged engineers in Nasarawa State to rally behind one of their own to succeed Governor Sule in 2027, warning that handing over leadership to someone without technical understanding could reverse the state’s progress.
“It would be a misfortune and suicidal to hand over this aircraft called Nasarawa to a pilot without engineering sense. The next governor must be someone who understands technology, industry, and value addition, another engineer like Engr. Sule,” Haruna said.
He described Sule’s administration as “a product of knowledge, integrity, prudence and patriotic engineering,” warning that continuity was essential to sustain the gains of the lithium revolution.
“I call on all members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the scientific community, and lovers of progress to rise in defence of this legacy. We must guard it jealously and ensure that Nasarawa remains in safe, competent hands,” he said.
According to him, Nasarawa’s lithium development “is not just about minerals, it’s about a new identity built on knowledge, innovation and engineering excellence.”
Engr. Rachel Serumum Ugye, who represented the National President of NSE, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntola, expressed gratitude for the organisation’s role in promoting professional excellence in the country. She thanked Governor Sule for his support and collaboration with the NSE in Nasarawa State.
She added that the upcoming annual conference of NSE, which attracts over 6,000 professionals nationwide, has already secured interest from several government agencies.
Earlier, the Chairman of NSE Lafia Branch, Engr. Simon Obagu, appreciated Governor Sule for providing a conducive environment that continues to attract investors to the state.
