We’ll take action on illegal mining – FG
The federal government has assured that it will take action on illegal mining in a few months, stressing that no mineral will henceforth be taken out of Nigeria without any form of value chain.
The Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Samson Ogah, stated this while on a familiarization visit to the National Metallurgical Centre and the Institute of Mining and Geosciences; two of the ministry’s agencies in Jos, Plateau State.
“For you to mine in this country, you must import your capital, we must see evidence of the capital you have brought in. No foreigner should be an artisan miner and you cannot take any mineral out of Nigeria without any form of value chain; there must be value added to the mineral which will lead to the creation of jobs,” he stated.
While paying a courtesy call on Governor Simon Bako Lalong, Prof. Ogah stated that minerals in Plateau State must be recognized, tracked and due
The Taskforce on Cleaner Environment under the auspices of the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, has sealed the premises of some federal and state government offices, businesses and property along Okpanam road, Asaba.
The exercise was part royalties paid to the federal government so that the state and local governments can get their share of 13 per cent derivation.
The Minister advised the state government to monitor the revenue from its state so they can reconcile with the revenue mobilization account adding that: “if you are sure you have 50 mining fields and they contributed, assuming N50million and what is being registered against you is N100 million, that means you have to follow up to know why.”
On his part, the Director General of NMDC, Prof. Linus Asuqo, said a team of metallurgical and maintenance experts engaged in 2018, to assess research equipment at the centre had reported that important equipment required for research are either lacking, broken down or have become obsolete.
Prof. Asuqo said the team had advised that the issue be addressed urgently for NMDC to discharge its mandate.
He said every raining season, erosion wreaks havoc to the topography of the centre and puts many structures, especially of efforts at enforcing environmental laws in the state.
The affected offices included the premises of the Delta State Urban Water Board, JAMB as well as the Federal Secretariat, housing all federal establishments in the state.
The enforcement team led by the Director General of the agency, Mrs. Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor, started the exercise the Lead Smelting Pilot plant, Finance and Human Resource building and others at risk, adding that efforts made by the centre to address the problem were not successful and called for a permanent solution to protect the structures and equipment.
Earlier, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong said the state is participating in the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources and has started the process of establishing the Plateau Mineral Company.
The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Prof. Sonnie Tyoden, said the state will appreciate it if the Ministry expedites action on issuing it a license but expressed worry that most of the mining ponds in the state had been left opened despite formal requests in the past to get some funds for reclamation.
He said Plateau State had been short-changed in the area of its 13 per cent derivation because a lot of the mining in the state were carried out by artisans who partner with foreigners. from Inter Bau roundabout to the U-turn around Midwifery Market, Okpanam.
Mrakpor advised residents to tidy up their premises.
She added that the Agency is not targeting the poor or the elite but unkempt premises and that contrary to speculations, the task force has not demolished any structure but shanties and illegal attachments.