Stakeholders in the coal mining sector in Enugu State, yesterday, described the mining activity as “disinvestment not investment,” asking for its discontinuation.

They stated that nearly 70 years of coal mining activity has not left any positive legacy for the state. The stakeholders, therefore, called on the state government to immediately initiate an environmental audit of the mines, compensation, and rehabilitation of the affected communities.

At a town hall and media discussion on coal mining organised by the RENEVLYN Development Initiative (RDI) in collaboration with New Life Community Care Initiative (NELCCI), Neighborhood Environmental Watch (NEW) Foundation, Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) and Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), they decried current efforts by the state government to raise revenues from the sector without a review of the impact on the environment and wellbeing of the people.

At the meeting attended by former coal workers and children of the miners, they lamented the destruction of their social and economic lives, stressing that mining is no longer a way to go since the world is migrating to clean energy.

Executive Director of RDI, Philip Jakpor, stated that the meeting became imperative, following a flurry of reports and activities about the planned commencement of mining activities in the state when the global community is embracing clean energy.

Jakpor said: “We worry that nearly 70 years of coal mining activity did not leave any positive legacy for Enugu; not on its finances or its environment, and not for the few surviving former coal miners, many of whom live in squalor, deprivation and regret.

“It is on this premise that we believe that rather than promote investment in dirty energy, the Enugu State government, with ample evidence of the consequences of coal on the environment, should be in the vanguard for a just energy transition that respects the people and the environment.”

Jakpor stated that despite the activities of the expatriates, such as Britain and Poland in coal exploration until they left the country, and its continuation by the  Nigeria Coal Corporation (NCC) until it folded up in 2002, the only legacy mining left in Enugu State was that “ the few miners still alive have the Colliery Quarters near IVA Valley where those whose property was not sold by the government still live.”

Speaking further on the controversy that trailed the singing of £3.7 billion between the Federal Government and a Chinese firm to generate power from coal in Enugu and the announcement by the state government banning illegal coal mining in the state, he stated that doing so without environmental impact certification and mitigation to check activities of artisanal miners was wrong.