Aniagwu: Atiku’ll Work With States To Develop Mining Industry

Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, will work with the states of the Federation to restructure Nigeria’s mining industry, according to Mr. Charles Aniagwu, spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council.

Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, and Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, his running mate, were very clear that industrialization and the exploitation of mineral resources would be given priority in their administration, according to Aniagwu, who was speaking on “Focus Nigeria” on AIT Policy Dialogue with the theme “Ending Illegal Mining in Nigeria.”

Aniagwu stated that the PDP administration would work with mining industry stakeholders, particularly the states, to make the sector beneficial to the nation.

According to him, it will not augur well for the Federal Government to seat down in Abuja and grant licences through the Ministry of Solid Minerals to an individual without determining the quantity of the particular mineral resource in the place.

“In doing so, Atiku-Okowa recognised the provisions of the Minerals Mining Act of 2007 particularly Chapter 1, Part 1 which states very clearly that ownership of solid minerals is vested in the Federal Government, and this means the Federal Government is saddled with a whole lot of responsibilities including the implementation of the Act.

“But Atiku says that in doing that, he is going to collaborate with states, just as he has also said that he will devolve powers so that in granting licenses to determine who should be involved in mining activities and how such products will be marketed, the states should be brought along.

“It is not enough to collect royalties for licenses without determining the quantity of deposits in that environment, Atiku said he would not operate like that because it would not add value to the Federation.”

“Atiku believes that just as petroleum products give us resources and help us run our economy, solid minerals should be able to play a very critical role, and for that to happen, key stakeholders must be critically involved to perform their roles to ensure the success of the sector.

“When the states are involved, it will be easier to properly police the environment and deal with the issues of insecurity surrounding mining activities in the country.

“When the states are involved in registering or licencing those involved in mining activities it will be a win-win situation for the person mining, the state where the resources is deposited and the Federal Government that is vested with the ownership of the product,” he said.

Aniagwu who is also Commissioner for Information in Delta, said before the discovery of oil, Enugu used to be called the “Coal City”, Jos “Tin City” and Lokoja had a whole lot of iron deposits.

He said for the country to generate enough revenue from the sector, there must be a correct data of the solid minerals in the country.

“Atiku-Okowa will implement the laws, bring in reforms such that at the end of the day the Federation is totally involved and not leaving it in the hands of the artisanal miners alone.

“Beyond the mining, Atiku will also bring industrialisation to the sector to ensure the country benefits from the entire solid minerals value-chain.

“All of these would be taken care of in the Atiku-Okowa Presidency by industrializing the sector and improve the nation’s earnings from the solid minerals industry.”

He said that Atiku-Okowa has the political will to put the 2007 Mining Act into effect and to review its provisions in light of evolving circumstances. He also asserted that anyone who attempts to mine federal property without a license will be caught by the law.

“Anybody who does not have a license and who is not entitled to go into mining automatically will be treated as a thief,” he stated.

The PDP Presidential Campaign Spokesman further said there would be a proper policing of what people are mining, what they are selling and the value the Federation is going to get so that the miner as a businessman is not going to operate at a loss, the Federation that owns the mineral will not also operate at a loss.

“We have in our policy document clearly stated how we are going to revitalise the solid minerals sector and get it to begin to play very critical role in contributing to the nation’s GDP.

“A situation where the government depends only on mining licenses and the little money they get from the sector is not good enough for a country seeking additional revenue to fund its infrastructural deficits.

“We are going to be much more interested in the quantity of the deposits and the ability of such companies to mine and exploit the solid minerals, and we are also going to be involved in understanding the value-chain in addition to industrialising the sector,” Aniagwu added.