House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals has warned it will recommend cancelling the mining licences of companies running quarries across the country if they are operating illegally or ignoring official invitations from the committee.
 
Chairman of the Committee, Jonathan Gbefwi, representing Keffi/Karu/Kokona, issued the warning at an investigative hearing into the activities of mining companies in Nigeria.
 
He, specifically, ordered Arab Contractors and Omatek to either present all relevant documents authorising their quarry operations or shut down immediately.
 
Gbefwi, who represents Nasarawa State, expressed displeasure that some quarry operators had refused to honour the committee’s invitations, describing their actions as a flagrant disregard for the laws of the land.
  
“It is unacceptable for companies to operate within Nigeria while disobeying extant laws and ignoring legislative oversight,” he said.
  
The lawmaker said an oversight visit by the committee to several quarry sites in the Federal Capital Territory exposed a deplorable state of affairs, particularly the failure of companies to fulfil their community development obligations.

He further disclosed that in many of the companies visited, only technical staff reside in Nigeria, while managing directors and senior executives, mostly foreign nationals, particularly from China, remain in their home countries.