The Forum of Concerned Stakeholders of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Sector has commended the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, while decrying the unbridled interference of state governors in mining operations in the country.
President of the Forum, Professor Segun Olatunji, who addressed a press conference alongside members of the forum on Wednesday in Abuja, said it is fair to observe that the administration achieved some set goals, but also observed that the government needs to rise up to the challenge of addressing challenges that threaten mining operations in the country.
Olatunji said: ‘We would like to commend the Minister for successfully closing the seven-year-old Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) Project of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development at the end of May,’ adding that amongst the several achievements of the project is the establishment of the geoscience data infrastructure, specifically the National Geodata Center and the Nigerian Mineral Decision Support System at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), to disseminate geoscience data generated by the project for investment decision-making.
According to the forum, ‘another important achievement is the upgrading and automation of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) system through an Electronic Mining Cadastre (eMC+) platform for online applications, e-recording, and archiving.’ The Forum described the projects as ‘two very important achievements of the MINDIVER, adding that the achievements positioned the Nigerian minerals and mining sector on a pedestal for growth.
Discussing a major challenge of the sector, Olatunji, who led the talks, said: ‘After due and critical consideration of the trends of events in the Nigerian minerals and mining sector and the need to assist your office in your efforts and mandate to continue the repositioning of the sector for meaningful economic contributions to the nation, we, the key players in the Nigerian mining industry, consisting of the Presidents of the Associations of Investors and Professionals, representing the critical mass of mining companies, investors and professionals in the industry wish to draw your attention to some unwholesome developments that are of grievous concern to stakeholders and offer recommendations for urgent remediation to arrest a further drift of the sector which has not fully resurged from the coma of decades long abandonment.’
The Forum identified the unbridled interference of state governors in the mining operations in their territories as a major challenge and recalled that ‘the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) and the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 (NMMA 2007) grant the Federal Government exclusive ownership and control of mineral resources.’
According to the Forum, ‘the NMMA 2007 also provides in Sections 1(2) and 22 for “the use of land for mining operations to have a priority over other uses of land and be considered for the purposes of access, use and occupation of land for mining operations as constituting an overriding public interest within the meaning of the Land Use Act” with “all lands in which minerals are found in commercial quantities acquired by the government of the Federation in accordance with the provisions of the Land Use Act”.
It noted that ‘contrary to the inviolate provisions of the CFRN and NMMA 2007, virtually all the states of the Federation have in the past few years embarked upon concerted processes and activities that have crept into the control and regulation of mineral operations within their territories, interfering in the process with the activities of duly licensed operators across the country.’
While calling on the minister to intervene, the Forum stated: ‘It is noteworthy that the unwholesome behaviour of state governments can 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,’ adding that enforcement of the Act and Regulations can curtail the infringement by states in the mining sector governance frameworks.
The Forum also called on the Minister to involve stakeholders in the ongoing review of mining laws, saying: ‘As stakeholders, we wish to point your attention to the fact that the process of the review of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and the consideration of the two bills to establish mining companies, corporations, and authorities before the National Assembly are not all-encompassing enough to capture the opinions of a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders.’
‘It is noteworthy that the multistage processes adopted in the past led to the formulation of the present mining policy that birthed the enactment of the NMMA 2007 and NMMR 2011, resulting in widely acceptable law and regulations and touted as an excellent piece of legislation even by foreign investors,’ the Forum added.
