The Ebonyi Government has urged First Patriot Company, a mining firm operating in Ameka community, Ezza South Local Government Area of the State, to ensure transparency in its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives for host communities.
The Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Engr. Chinedum Nkah, gave the directive during an engagement with the company and community leaders, stressing the need to ensure that residents receive their rightful benefits from mining activities.
Nkah said the government, under Governor Francis Nwifuru, was committed to ensuring that host communities received their due royalties and were not shortchanged in agreements with mining companies.
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He also urged the people of Ameka to honour the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with the company.
The commissioner said the ministry was committed to transparency in the mining sector to ensure that communities were adequately informed about the benefits provided by companies operating in their areas.
“And today I am working with the people of Ameka, because they have started with transparency, which the ministry is preaching,” Nkah said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Oguzor Ofia Nwali, said transparency should cover all aspects of the company’s community support, particularly scholarship awards.
The President-General of Ameka Autonomous Community, Justice Paul Elechi, said the community was blessed with both human and mineral resources.
Elechi pledged the community’s support for the Ebonyi Government and First Patriot Company.
The Chief Executive of First Patriot Company, Mr. Satya Penneru, said the company was committed to maintaining transparency in its operations.
The Chairman of the Harmonisation Committee, Uguru Chibueze, outlined the benefits provided for the community under the agreement.
He said the package included N20 million for scholarships, N10 million for skills acquisition, N5 million for the women’s August meeting, 10 motorcycles for security operations and N2 million annually for the Ezeogo Cabinet.
Speaking on behalf of First Patriot Limited, Mwogha Godwin said relations between the company and the Ameka community had remained cordial.
The traditional ruler of Ameka Autonomous Community, Eze Martin Nwali, pledged the community’s commitment to providing security and fulfilling its obligations under the agreement.
The Special Assistant on Solid Minerals, Okorie Jideofor Peter, commended the state government for its ongoing reforms in the mining sector.
