Concerned stakeholders in the Nigerian minerals and mining sector have alleged undue interference by state governments in mining operations in the country.
Led by Prof Akinade Olatunji, the miners, at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, argued that the development was in breach of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007.
They insisted that interferences by the state governments were manifest in several forms, including the establishment of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for minerals and mining and orders that all duly licensed operators should register with the state-run MDAs.
The miners added that the restrictions also include the closure of operational sites via law enforcement agents and task forces not known to extant industry regulations, confiscation of lawfully mined products without reasons, brutalisation of personnel in some instances, vandalisation and burning of hard-earned equipment and deployment of state apparatus to institute ‘frivolous’ court cases against operators.
“This unchecked usurpation of the functions of the Federal Government by state authorities is a direct affront to the preserved rights of the Federal Government as enshrined in the Constitution and the Mining Act and has thrown the entire sector into confusion.
“These actions from the sub-nationals do not only complicate the business environment for investors, but they also introduce a huge level of unquantifiable risks capable of hindering and sabotaging the Federal Government’s vision for the accelerated investment flows into the sector,” they noted.
The miners observed that the ‘unwholesome behaviour’ of state governments could be partly traced to the lack of establishment or effectiveness of the States Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCOs), as prescribed in Section 19 of the NMMA 2007 and Section 163 of the NMMR 2011.
They contended that strict compliance with the Act and regulations could curtail the infringement by states in the mining sector governance frameworks.
The stakeholders stressed that the cacophony of policies emanating from the states that conflict with the enabling legislation governing the sector needs to be arrested lest the country end up in mass agitation for resource control over natural resources reserved by the CFRN to the Federal Government.
Stating that the huge investments made by operators in the sector are currently being endangered by the actions of the State governments and their agents, they warned that if the situation is allowed to fester, the seven-point agenda for the sector, as enunciated by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, for the promotion of a resurgent minerals and mining sector would be undermined, compromised and unrealised.
They added: “As stakeholders, we believe that the state and the Federal Governments should be on the same page to ensure the attainment of the aspirations of the governments at all levels for the sector.
“The present situation where states are competing among themselves to ban or regulate the minerals and mining space in their states would only destroy whatever gains the sector had made in recent years.
“The Federal Government cannot be going round the world seeking FDIs in the minerals and mining sector, while the states are busy enacting and implementing measures that negate investment in the sector.”
They, therefore, called on the minister to declare all regulatory agencies, orders, enactments, and structures by all sub-national entities as illegal.
Among others, the stakeholders, an amalgam of Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN); Women In Mining In Nigeria (WIMiN); Nigeria Society of Mining Engineers (NSME); National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), and the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), called for a review of the operational guidelines for the Mining Marshall outfit to align and complement the functions of the Mines Inspectorate and Mines Environmental Compliance Departments of the ministry.
