Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has signed an Executive Order restricting all mining host communities from bequeathing Right of Occupancy of lands to entities intending to carry out mining activities in the state.
The state Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Kwanta Yakubu, disclosed this yesterday at a press briefing in Lafia, the state capital.
The signed Executive Order No. 02, 2022 by the governor, according to Kwanta, is to protect mining host communities in the state from insecurity and other forms of criminality, and the need to provide institutional support for technical assistance to artisanal miners.
According to the commissioner, “The Executive Order directed all mining entities arriving in the state with the authority of the federal government to carry out mining in the state to report to the state Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to verify their legal status, citizenship and background before settling in the communities in collaboration with security agencies.
“All mining entities arriving and doing business in the state must report to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for the purpose of documentation and identification of their operational status for peace and security.”
He stated that all mining entities doing business in the state must ensure that they pay all mining and other related taxes, levies, fees, charges promptly to the Central Billing System domiciled with the Nasarawa State Internal Revenue Service.
The commissioner said: “Holders of mining lease or licence are restricted to the powers conferred on them by the Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and the Land Use Act, 1978 and to ensure the restoration and reparation of the integrity of the degraded land and environment as required by these Acts.
“All mining entities are to ensure that physical development of structures must be approved by the Nasarawa State Urban Development Authority in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.”
Kwanta, therefore, warned that the state government as well the traditional institutions and security agencies in the state would commence total enforcement of the Executive Order and initiate investigation and prosecution of defaulters in accordance with the law .
