…Says govt paying lip service to stopping menace

By Chioma Onuegbu Uyo

THE Nigerian Mining and Geoscience Society NMGS, has warned against continued activities of illegal miners across the 36 states of the federation which deprives Nigeria of huge revenue from the sector and devastates the environment.

The President of NMGS  Prof. Shedrack Olatunji, who noted this weekend while fielding questions from newsmen at the 255th Council meeting of the society in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital, urged government to support ideas aimed at putting an end to the menace.

Olatunji stressed that federal government must address the challenges of poor funding of mines offices and empowerment of the federal mining officers in 36 state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory in order to curtail illegal mining activities.

His words, ” I agree that there’s a lot of illegal mining activities going on across the country. Mining activities don’t take place in city centers but in the remote areas. And for you to monitor, and to police all those places you need qualified, energized, motivated, and well regulated personnel.

“Each state of the 36 states has federal mines officer who ensures that all mining activities in his or her domain are done legally. But each officer is supposed to be equipped with vehicles. Also they are supposed to have sufficient running cost to do the job, but the reverse is the case.

“Mines offices need adequate qualified personnel, but  Mines offices are poorly staffed. That’s why we are saying that for the government to be thinking seriously about curbing illegal mining, they need to increase the staff strength of mines inspectorate unit.

  “There are a lot of people out there who are well trained and can be posted to the mines offices to do this job. As a society, we frown at illegal mining because it is denying the nation of its revenue, it is denying our people of jobs, and it is also devastating our environment.

“If it is not curtailed we will continue to see vast wastelands not useful for any other thing. So government must stop playing lip service to idea of stopping illegal mining in the country”

Continuing the NMGS President noted that  they were currently pushing that people in that mines inspectorate department should  be treated like people in Federal Inland Revenue service (FIRS) who are on separate salary scale from the federal government scale because of the revenue they generate revenue.

 He noted that the 255th NMGS  Council meeting would look at the progress so far made adding, “Also at this council meeting we will look at the membership applications. In fact this council meeting will be a very busy one where a lot of initiatives will be discussed”