By Dennis Agbo

The House of Representatives member for Enugu North/Enugu South federal Constituency, Rep Chimaobi Atu has expressed confidence that his bill seeking for the establishment of a Nigerian Coal Development Commission (NCDC) would be passed into law in no distant time.

Atu gave the insight shortly after the bill he initiated, for an Act to repeal the Nigerian Coal Corporation Act Cap 95 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and enact the Nigerian Coal Development Commission Enugu Act and related matters, passed through seconding in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

At the plenary, Atu led the debate on the general principles of the bill, explained that there was an urgent need to revive the coal industry in Nigeria to carter for the shortfall in energy sources needed for industrial purposes, stating that the old law needed to be repealed to provide more effective management in the nation’s coal industry.

He reminded the House that the Nigerian Coal Corporation Act was originally enacted in 1950 to provide for the establishment of the Nigerian Coal Corporation and for the transfer of all colliery undertakings of the government to the corporation, but that the corporation became moribund.

According to Atu, “The Nigerian Coal Industry which provided a chunk of the country’s revenue before and after independence is now moribund and there is a need to revive it. More so, this bill, when passed into law will end illegal coal mining activities in the country because illegal mining, if not checked, could lead to serious security challenges.”

The lead debate made available to newsmen indicated that some of the core mandates of the Commission, when established, would be to coordinate all activities connected with mining, exploration, development, and utilization of coal in Nigeria.

The Commission will also explore the use of coal in the production of solar cells and other products and ensure sufficient production of coal for the generation of electricity and steel development.

It will be recalled that recent studies indicated that Enugu, Kogi, and Benue states have an estimated 2.8 billion metric tons of coal deposits made of bituminous coal. This type of coal has coke elements which are highly needed in the iron and steel industry.

Speaking with newsmen, Atu said he was quite aware of the climate change issues around coal mining but assured Nigerians and the world that all environmental and health concerns would be captured. He emphasized that the economic survival of the country was key.

“Let me assure you that I am very much aware of the climate change concerns, but we need our industries working to create jobs. Our focus is electricity generation and our industries,” Atu said.