Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has ordered the suspension of all licences of mining firms operating in the state.

This was contained in a statement signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the suspension of the operators is to remain in force until the conclusion of the ongoing review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state as the owner of the licences and the operators.

The operators are however directed to report to the Committee on Assets Verification and Recovery chaired by Dr B.T Salami on Monday by noon.

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The statement reads in part “In furtherance of his bid to reform the state’s Solid Mineral Sector, Governor Ademola Adeleke has directed immediate suspension of all mining firms operating the state’s mining licences.

‘’All operators are to report to the Committee on Assets Verification and Recovery chaired by Dr B.T Salami with copies of their Memorandum of Understanding which governs their relationship with the state government.

“In a public announcement from the Secretary to the State Government, Hon Teslim Igbalaye, Governor Adeleke reiterated his resolve to recover all funds owed Osun state and stop the reaping of state assets from mining to revenue collection.”

Adeleke suspends licenses of mining firms operating in Osun

The Benue State Government says it is committed to working with investors seeking to explore the vast mineral resources in the state.

The  Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Solid Minerals, Mr Bernard Unenge said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Makurdi.

He said that Benue has almost all mineral resources found anywhere in the country.

“From the investigations we have made, we can confidently tell you that there are huge deposits of various minerals in the state,” Unenga said.

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He said although the issue of solid minerals was in the hands of the Federal Government, the state will work with investors to exploit the resources.

“Benue state is one of the states in this country that is blessed with a lot of mineral potential.

“We have almost all the minerals that are found in Nigeria, ranging from Barite, Gypsum, Gold, Lead, and precious stones.

“The state is seeking who is going to be able to tell us the quantum and quality of minerals we have so that the documents will be made available to potential investors.

“We are hoping that once we have the consultants on the ground do all that is needed in terms of the type and quality of minerals we have in the state, we should be able to invite investors to come in and invest,” the commissioner added.

Unenge said the government would provide incentives for investors in the solid mineral sector.

(NAN)

Benue to work with investors to exploit mineral resources

A civil society organization, Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to tackle illegal mining in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Executive Director of the civil society organisation, Ms Faith Nwadishi made the call during a town hall meeting organised by the CTA.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was on the “Community Development Agreement (CDA) and validation of the report of the scoping study on the impact of mining on the Original Inhabitants (OI) of the FCT.

NAN also reports that the study was carried out by CTA with the support of Macarthur Foundation through the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED).

In her remarks, Nwadishi decried that the damaging effects of mining especially quarrying by some companies had left communities devasted, means of livelihood destroyed, cultural sites desecrated, and the people dejected.

In her words, “This is why we call on the federal government to put measures in place to tackle the devastating effect of mining on the means of livelihood of the original inhabitants of the FCT.”

“We are here today to actualise yet another milestone in the history of this project on promoting the rights of the original inhabitants of the FCT.

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“This project was launched on Jan. 14. It has been a long journey especially in demanding the rights of the Original Inhabitants of the FCT and making certain requests.”

The executive director said that the scoping study would help the communities, mining companies and the government to further understand the challenges associated with mining and how the communities would benefit from the natural resources on their soil.

“From the respondents’ feedback, it showed that some of the important sites of the inhabitants have been destroyed by mining and infrastructural development activities such as in Kubwa district where their grave sites have been converted to an ultra-modern market now called Maitama market.”

She called on the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to do more to assist communities in the FCT negotiate agreements with mining operators.

Also speaking, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite said that the community development agreement in the sector was to ensure that the mining communities were carried along by the mining operators.

Adegbite was represented by Dr Vivian Okono, Director Mines and Environmental Compliance Department.

He said that CDA was enshrined in the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (NMMA), 2007 to make agreements between the Mineral Title Holders and the Mining Communities mandatory.

On his part, Esu Bwari, Dr Ibrahim Yaro said that aside from illegal mining, quarry activities were also a hazard to the people in the community.

The Esu who was represented by Bwari Youth Leader, John Awoyi also said that a lot of residents in the area were displaced by mining activities.

Yaro, however, appealed to CTA to add its scope of intervention on quarry activities which has affected the communities.

CTA urges Nigerian Govt to tackle illegal mining in FCT