Governors resolve to tackle illegal mining in states

Governors of the 36 states of the federation have resolved to check the activities of illegal miners in their states. 

A communique on Friday signed by the Kwara State governor and chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, stated that the governors reached the resolution after receiving a briefing from the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake during their meeting.

Alake had briefed the governors on recent policies, institutional and operational reforms undertaken by the ministry in harnessing the mining potentials of the country, and appealed to the governors to key in.

Part of the communique reads, “He sought the cooperation of state governments in his drive to create an enabling business environment for investors, support artisanal and small-scale mining cooperatives, address illegal mining and de-risk the sector. 

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“The minister encouraged state governments to form mining companies and apply for mining licences. 

The governors welcomed the reforms, but however, advocated stronger inter-governmental relation in coordinating the activities of the sector from licensing and surveillance to operational safeguards.”