By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The Chairman of Benue State Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee, MIREMCO, and the State Commissioner for Justice, Fidelis Mnyim has said that the state is blessed with 34 out of the 44 solid minerals found in the country.

He pointed out that despite the state’s rich endowment it gets little as 13 percent derivative from the Federal Government owing to the activities of illegal miners and criminal elements who have constituted themselves as security threat to the state.

The Chairman who made the disclosure Friday during a media briefing said his committe had come to sanitise the system by working in synergy with the office of the Minister of Solid Minerals, the miners and the host communities to ensure that the proper thing was done in the sector.

He said: “The Committee is created under the Mineral and Mining Act 2009, particularly Section 19. The State has the opportunity to benefit from the Act bearing in mind that the issue of solid minerals is in the Exclusive List and the State governments benefit from that section of the act.

“What the committee will do for the communities of Benue State where these solid minerals are found will include to serve as an advisory committee to the Minister of Solid Minerals.

“The committee is to liaise and create synergy between the Federal Government, the states and the host community in trying to see how the mineral resources are properly developed and harnessed.

“Also, the presence of the committee is to ensure and take deliberate steps to ensuring that the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of the state is also increased.

“We have a window, even though the Federal Government is in charge of mining but the State government has a window to take back from the Federal Government by the 13 percent derivatives which is made through royalty payment.

“So as a committee our duty is to make sure that we look into this synergy in order to ensure that our mineral resources are fully developed in Benue State.

“Benue State has the deposit of 34 mineral resources out of the total of 44 in the entire country. It is quite unfortunate that our 13 percent derivative is very very low. Benue state get something in the neighbourhood of N30million.

“If you have 34 out of 44 it is assumed that you are on the A grade. So Benue has no excuse to be losing that much. But there is a problem, the presence of illegal miners in the State, the problem of improper reporting of the mining activities in the State that have denied the State the royalties and 13 percent derivatives that should be given to the state.

“So that is the duty and work of the committee. As we are on board, we will be setting us a desk that will be making sure that all the persons that have licenses and operating in the state are properly captured and documented.

“Some persons have licenses and are not operating in line with laid down rules. Some are operating without licence.
We have the issues of non payment of surface rent, non execution of Community Development Agreement, CDA.

“This CDA is such that it is not just mandate on finance. Some of the agreement could include construction and maintenance of road, some includes provision of water for the community and several other incentives that follow the CDA. 

“There are companies operating here in the state without executing any of the CDA which is a key component in the Mining Act.
We will make sure that proper royalty is paid to the Federal Government for the State government on the other hand to get its 13 percent derivative.

“We will also ensure that proper licenses are being issued even for the export of these products. As well as making sure that proper Environmental Impact Assessement, EIA is being done.”