Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago has disclosed that an executive bill; “Responsible Mining” is to be sent to the state House of Assembly for passage to sanitise mining activities in the state as a precursor to removal of mining from the exclusive list.
He stated this when he received the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals led by its chairman, Senator Ekong Sampson, at the Government House in Minna yesterday.
The governor said the bill when passed into law would spell out procedures for mining, thereby getting rid of all forms of irregularities in the sector.
He said the state government had held series of meetings with stakeholders in the industry on the proposed bill which also seeks to address post- mining effects, among others.
The governor decried the activities of artisanal miners, saying it had resulted in the loss of many lives and property and encouraged banditry.
He thanked the senate committee for the visit and reassured that the state would support and partner it to achieve its set objectives even as talks were ongoing with the federal government on license for aggregation to help in checking the exploitation of young illegal miners.
Governor Bago also advocated removal of mining from the exclusive to the concurrent list in the constitution to give room for responsible mining in the state.
The chairman of the committee, Sen. Ekong Sampson, said part of its mandate was to look into the remote and immediate causes of mining collapse, following a motion moved by the senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa on the floor of the Senate.
While commending Sen. Sani Musa for moving the motion, Sen. Sampson highlighted several issues on mining safety in Nigeria, saying the mining sector remained critical to the nation, hence, the committee was determined to put measures that would prevent reoccurrence.
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