The Nasarawa State House of Assembly is set to conduct a fact-finding visit to the Abuni and Uke districts in the Awe and Karu local governments, respectively, after receiving a petition detailing the state of the mining communities in the two local governments.
The petition dated 3 October 2024, jointly signed by the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) and the Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF), wants the lawmakers to commission a comprehensive environmental audit of Abuni and Uke district and their source of water, revoke the mining license of any company found wanting, and scrutinize the agreements between the mining firms and traditional rulers in the communities affected.
Disclosing the Assembly’s decision to conduct the findings, the chair of the Environment Committee, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Honourable Adamu Omadefu, in a meeting in Abuja with representatives of RDI, EDEN, and CSFF, said that violators of the environment in the state will not be allowed to continue on that path.
Omadefu revealed that the committee on the environment has written to the state Ministry of Environment to provide a comprehensive list of the mining firms operating in Nasarawa State, which would be the starting point of the investigation.
Executive director of RDI, Philip Jakpor, in his speech commending the planned action of the state, said that the developments in the mining communities in Nasarawa are particularly frightening and reminiscent of how the Niger Delta crisis began.
Jakpor pointed out that indiscriminate extraction has adversely affected the environment and water sources in the mining communities. He drew the lawmaker’s attention to Abuni, where locals complained that wastewater from one of the firms’ quarry was spewing chemicals into the Rafin Jaki River that locals consume and use for other domestic activities.
He explained that the situation in the mining communities is a ticking time bomb which will explode except something urgent and meaningful is done about the situation, going further to state that the oil curse in the Niger Delta is being replicated in sordid form through solid minerals extraction in the north.
EDEN executive director Barrister Chima Williams commended the lawmaker for his passion for nipping the situation in the bud, maintaining that only someone who loves the people and believes in them can take up the challenge of addressing their concerns.
Williams reiterated that the civil society community in Nigeria is not against foreign or local investments that make life meaningful for host communities. He stressed that such investments must respect the rights of the people, respect their environment, and respect the laws of the country.
Echoing similar sentiment, EDEN deputy executive director Comrade Alagoa Morris said that the sad developments in the Niger Delta after oil started leaving behind a trail of death and destruction must not be allowed to happen in the solid minerals sector.
Beyond what can be seen physically, in the Niger Delta, oil has affected the life expectancy of most individuals, leaving them vulnerable to illnesses.
Comrade Bomoi Mohammed of the CFSF welcomed the state’s decision to act on the petition from the three organisations. He promised that the civil society community would give the exercise the needed support in mobilising the locals to share their bitter experiences due to the mining activities.
