Nasarawa State Government To Stop Illegal Miners Without Registration.
By Amina Mohammed, Lafia
In line with the prosed Federal Government policy on the ban of mining activities in Nigeria, Nasarawa state Government has taken proactive measures to close all artisanal mining companies that are operating without proper registration to tackle insecurity threats in the state.
State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources Mr. Yakubu Kwanta stated this when he led the management team of the ministry on a state tour in Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone of the state.
He said the reason for the tour is meant to enable the state government to have first-hand information about the numbers of registered miners and their mode of operations across the state.
Mr. Yakubu Kwanta who expressed dismay over what he saw in some mining sites said the ministry under his watch will leave no stone untorn to ensure that miners operating in the state are registered and also adhere strictly to State and federal government rules and regulations.
“You may recall that the federal government recently intends to ban the mining activities in some states, this is a deliberate step by the state government to see that we check all excesses of mining activities in the state so that we can be in the same line with the policy document of this administration and the document of this ministry of environment and natural resources, which is also within our mandate, Nasarawa state as the solid mineral and one of the most peaceful states in the country, going round all the mining site in the state is a deliberate attempt to check the security situation in the state, we have about two company’s operating here, when we arrived, the all ran away that further confirmed that their operation is illegal and not in line with the program of the state, Some of the personnel from China, indication has shown that some of them have no genuine papers to be in this country and to even operate here”, Kwanta noted
The state Commissioner also used the medium to call on artisanal miners in the state to register with the ministry of environment to enable the state government to ensure absolute protection of the lives and property of the citizenry.
Some of the workers in the mining sites expressed worry over their working conditions, appealing to the state government to create more job opportunities to reduce restiveness among youths
