On Monday, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule said that foreign miners operating in Nigeria’s solid mineral sector are the ones benefiting more than Nigerians, News About Nigeria reports.
According to Governor Sule, these foreigners have now become more prominent in the mining sector and are now milking Nigeria dry at the expense of its citizens.
The Governor said this at a public policy dialogue on Nigeria’s minerals and mining legislation which was organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
While speaking at the dialogue, Sule noted that there must be a reform in the mining sector so that Nigerians can benefit from their natural resources.
In his words, “If we are serious about the future of the economic situation of Nigeria, we must reform what we call the solid mineral sector and if we must reform, we must come up with policies and reform them to benefit Nigerians. If we don’t do that, we will just be joking.
“One community in Nasarawa got some kind of compensation of a very small amount of N700m. They were so excited but this was nothing compared to the time when lithium was running roughly about $76,000 per metric ton.”
Also speaking on the solid mineral sector and mining in Nigeria, the Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Jonathan Gaza revealed that the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (Amendment) Bill which is being considered has that five percent of the total revenue of all minerals mined would be given to the host communities.
He also noted that when the bill is passed, there will be an establishment of a Mines Inspection and Environmental Agency which would help in providing improved deeper oversight of mining activities and bridge the gap between the Federal and State Governments.
