Civic-technology organisation Urban Alert has called on the Osun State Government to publicly disclose the full terms of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) executed with the Critical Minerals Financing Corporation Plc (CMFC), warning that secrecy surrounding the state’s mineral assets breaches national transparency standards.
The agreement was signed on August 11, 2026, at Bola Ige House by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Mineral Resources, Prof. Lukman Jimoda.
Although the administration presented the deal as an initiative to enhance the value of the state’s mineral sector, no financial figures, equity or revenue-sharing arrangements, contract duration, or targeted mining locations have been made public.
In a press statement issued on Friday, Urban Alert challenged the government’s reliance on confidentiality to keep the agreement hidden from citizens.
“Confidentiality has a legitimate place in early-stage commercial negotiation; however, it has no legitimate place standing in for a completed governance process,” the group declared.
“What has been announced is not just a commercial term sheet under negotiation, but a signed agreement, sealed at the seat of government, with the state’s own mineral wealth as its subject matter. At that stage, the public’s right to know is not a courtesy the government may withhold, but an obligation the government owes the people of Osun State.”
The organization warned that the blanket NDA runs counter to Nigeria’s obligations under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which requires public disclosure of contracts governing mineral exploitation.
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With the state government confirming that this is the first of three new mining deals expected in the coming months, Urban Alert cautioned that allowing opacity to stand now risks establishing a dangerous template for future mineral governance in Osun State.
Pointing to the state’s poor track record, the group noted that out of eight mining agreements signed by previous administrations, only three or four remain active today, with the remainder collapsing into inactivity without public explanation.
Urban Alert also raised concerns regarding the financial status of CMFC, noting that despite being listed on the Nigerian Exchange, the entity has a small operating footprint and filed a net loss in its most recent financial year.
Furthermore, the organization emphasized that secrecy deepens the plight of host communities already suffering from illegal mining and environmental contamination, including the ongoing #SaveOsunRiver crisis. Hiding the underlying legal agreements, the group argued, strips local communities of the information required to demand remedies or verify environmental and social protections.
Urban Alert outlined four major demands for Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration: publishing the full text or core commercial terms of the NDA under the Freedom of Information Act 2011, disclosing the due diligence and beneficial ownership details of CMFC, establishing a binding transparency protocol for future mining deals, and identifying the specific mineral titles and communities impacted by the agreement.
“Secrecy at the point of signing is not a foundation for ‘credible investment’. It is a foundation for the same cycle of failed, unaccountable agreements the state has already lived through eight times before,” the statement concluded.
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