The activities of artisanal miners in Niger state have resulted in the loss of many lives and property as well as encouraged banditry, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has said.
The governor stated this at the weekend while receiving in audience the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals investigating recent mining site collapse in the state.
He said, “The activities of artisanal miners are of great concern to us as a government. This is not only because it has claimed many lives and property but because it has encouraged banditry activities in parts of our state.”
While stressing the urgent need for the removal of mining from the Exclusive to the Concurrent List in the constitution, the governor said his administration is fine-tuning an Executive Bill to sanitise mining activities in the state, adding that the bill would be sent to the state assembly soon.
“When passed into law, the bill will spell out the procedures to follow in terms of mining operations in Niger State, thereby getting rid of all forms of irregularities in the mining sector. In this regard, government has held series of meetings with stakeholders in the mining industry on the proposed bill, which also seeks to address post mining effect among others,” he explained.
Bago said his administration is currently in talk with the gederal government on the issue of license for aggregation to help in checking the exploitation of young illegal miners in the state.
The chairman Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Senator Ekong Sampson, had explained that the committee was mandated to look into the remote and immediate causes of the mining collapse, following a motion moved by the senator representing Niger East, Mohammed Sani Musa on the floor of the Senate.
