Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has pledged his commitment to the revalidation of mining licences that are close to being forfeited.
The governor in a statement released to journalists in Osogbo yesterday by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, said the state has about seven mining licences across the solid mineral value chains.
The governor said the licenses were almost sold off in the last days of the Gboyega Oyetola’s administration, “through what appeared like a deliberate refusal to revalidate them by paying the required fees to the federal mining licencing body.
“After the submission of the report of the Solid Minerals Committee, Governor Adeleke has however ramped up actions to reposition the sector and ensure the revalidation of the state mining licenses.
“At a meeting with the director-feneral of the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Agency, Engr Obadiah Nkom, the governor affirmed the readiness of his administration to ensure all necessary fees are paid so that the state’s mining licenses can be secured,” he said.
Responding, Nkom expressed the readiness of his agency to partner with the state government for the revival of the mining sector.
The DG who described Osun as an important mining state commended the political will demonstrated by Governor Adeleke, stressing that, “This direct meeting with our agency is unprecedented in federal-state mining relations.”
