By Chukwudi Nweje
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has vowed to sanitise mining operations in Nigeria to ensure adequate security of lives, properties, and operating environment.
Alake who Thursday afternoon hosted Governors of Kwara, Abdulrahman Abdulrasak, Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, and Niger State, Hon. Umar Bago in his office, said the meeting was to ensure rapid development of the mining sector in the shortest time possible.
In a statement by Segun Tomori, his Special Assistant on Media, the Minister said: “We are moving forward to sanitise mining operations in Nigeria to ensure adequate security of lives, properties, and operating environment. The devastation caused by security breaches have been discussed exhaustively and we are resolving all of these to ensure the objective of rapid development of the mining sector is achieved in the shortest time possible.”
Alake in his remarks stated that with his deliberation with the governors, grey areas were ironed out, restating the commitment of the Federal Government to sanitising mining operations in the country and ensuring adequate security through rejigging of the nation’s security architecture with the active cooperation and collaboration with the states.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Niger State Governor, Hon. Bago revealed that issues around revalidating licenses given to mining companies who have gone out of their scope dominated discussions alongside the need for them to re-register in the states with specificity as regards the location of mining in addition to security challenges faced by mining operators.