Nigeria loses $9bn yearly to illegal mining activities — Reps

Hon. Jonathan Gaza, Chairman, House of Representatives Com­mittee on Solid Minerals, on Mon­day, disclosed that Nigeria loses about $9 billion in revenue yearly to illegal mining activities across the country.

He disclosed this in Abuja during the opening of an inves­tigative hearing into illegal min­ing activities, under-reporting by mining and quarry licence operators, utilisation of finan­cial interventions in the Nigerian solid minerals sector amounting to trillions of naira within the solid mineral sector and also the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act (amendment bill) and Nige­ria Solid Minerals Development Company (establishment bill), respectively.

He said: “The leadership of the 10th House of Representatives has found it expedient and a sense of duty to carry out these inves­tigative hearings to necessitate transparency and accountabil­ity, public participation, policy formation and identify challenges and solutions that will ultimately lead to the revamping of our solid mineral sector.

“As we are all aware, illegal mining poses substantial risks to our nation’s economy, envi­ronment, and security. The un­regulated exploitation of our natural resources jeopardises the sustainability of the mineral sector, leading to environmental degradation and revenue loss that could otherwise benefit our com­munities and nation as a whole.

“It is imperative that we take as a matter of urgency, decisive steps and necessary action to ad­dress this issue and ensure that our solid mineral sector operates within the framework of the law, protecting our natural resources for future generations.

“Furthermore, as representa­tives of the people, the parliament is deeply worried about the loss of revenue through unregulated and illicit mining operations with the Federal Government disclosing that unlawful mining costs the country $9 billion each year, with the only money coming from a three percent royalty paid by the few licensed miners.

“This development as you all know hampers the country’s abil­ity to maximise the benefits from its mineral resources.

“There is also the grave con­cern about the negative impacts of illegal mining which has led to insecurity and conflicts over control of mining sites and their resources. These conflicts have escalated into violence thereby ex­acerbating existing political and social tensions in affected com­munities which has resulted in the limited data availability and inadequate measures to control this illicit practice.”

According to him, the pub­lic hearing serves as a valuable platform for collecting insights, information, and recommenda­tions from stakeholders, experts, and affected communities.

“By attentively listening to their testimonies and perspec­tives, we can gain a deeper under­standing of the challenges posed by illegal mining and develop ef­fective strategies to combat this illicit activity. I call upon all partic­ipants to engage in constructive dialogue, share their experiences, and offer practical solutions that will guide our legislative efforts towards regulating the solid min­eral sector effectively.”

In his remarks, the co-chair­man of the joint committees, Hon. Balele Aminu, underscored the need to address the critical issue of national importance.

“Last week, I found myself in another committee discussing about oil theft when I got submis­sions from various professional organisations I think we need support, prayers from Nigerians. This is the most critical aspect to­day, we are looking for revenue, there is revenue here.

“We are looking for money, people are saying that we don’t have money in Nigeria, there’s money in the mining sector but the challenge is enormous. We need the support of Nigerians through memos, inputs and oth­er things.”

Hon. Aminu, who doubles as Chairman, House Committee on Army, observed that “the money that is going out from illegal min­ing is more than what is going out from oil sector and bunkering, so we need to come together, work together and see how we are going to assist our nation.”

While declaring the hearing open, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, who was represented by the Ma­jority Leader, Hon. Julius Ihon­bvere, averred that illegal mining in Nigeria has huge implications for the economy of our nation.

While noting that the outcome of the comprehensive investi­gation into the reported illegal activities and the committees’ recommendations will guide the House in taking necessary legis­lative actions, he solicited the co­operation of all the stakeholders in addressing the menace.

Source: Independent.ng