According to Senator Ekong Sampson of the National Assembly, who represents the senatorial constituency of Akwa Ibom South, the actions of illegal miners are posing a major threat to national security.
In addition, he said that Nigerians were working with their foreign partners to cheat the country out of its mining riches.
The senator promised to step up inquiries into the industry in the best interests of the nation in a statement released on Tuesday by his media assistant, Mr. Samuel Udoma.
The Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Chairman, Sampson, stated that reevaluating and reducing mining operations would reposition the solid minerals industry.
Through resolutions passed during plenary sessions late last year, the Senate had directed the Solid Minerals Committee to look into the immediate and distant causes of the nation’s declining revenue from the development of solid minerals, as well as to examine the actions of industry players, policy administrators, and policy executors, as well as the execution of policies and the upstream, midstream, and downstream operations of the solid minerals sector.
The committee was also tasked with reviewing all mining and mineral resource-related programs related to the Bureau of Public Enterprise’s privatization or commercialization from 1999 to the present, as well as determining the scope and impact of illicit mining activities and the level of collusion among local and foreign industry participants.
“The Senate condemned seriously the attitude of some Nigerians who collude with unscrupulous foreign elements to rip the country of its mineral wealth, without the corresponding accruals to national revenue.
“The Senate is also alarmed at the security problems posed by illegal mining in the country and has vowed to intensify investigations into the management of the sector, in the interest of the country.
“We will continue to intensify efforts aimed at reviewing and streamlining mining activities in order to reposition the solid minerals sector,” the statement said.
The committee chairman who lamented that the recent Ibadan explosion was caused by irresponsible and illegal mining behavior, said the disjointed mining operations have become a new cause of insecurity concerns in the country, with threats to loss of lives and property.
He pledged his committee’s resolve to stamp out illegal mining and look into the extant Mining Act, to review through proper legislation, in line with best practices.
Senator Sampson equally condemned the behavior of some industry players in the mining sector, who disregarded the committee’s invitations, with some even threatening legal actions, once they were invited for interactions.
He warned that the Senate would not be fettered in its investigations, despite petitions by some of these operators.
The Akwa Ibom South Senator also hinted at plans to hold regular roundtable discussions with relevant agencies, experts, industry players, artisanal miners, and other stakeholders to further compare notes on how best to reposition operations in the sector.
