The President of Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), Mrs Rose Ndong, has said that the federal government has commenced the process of reviewing extant laws to give state governments more control over mining activities.
According to Ndong, the review of mining laws spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Mining would provide and strengthen existing legal framework to check activities of illegal miners across all the states in Nigeria
Addressing a press conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, ahead of 262nd council meeting of Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) scheduled to hold in Uyo, Ndong said, mining laws was first reviewed in 2007 and urged the federal government to rejig the laws because of emerging trends in the mining industry.
“We cannot encourage state governments to issue mining licence to companies. For now, the federal government is vested with such power, but we are expecting that the federal government would review those laws to tackle illegal mining across Nigeria “
Ndong said the Geosciences Society’s conference billed to commence from March 22nd to 27 at CEEDAEG Hotel in Uyo City on the “Optimising Efficiency, Sustainability and Resilience in Natural Resources Management and Infrastructure Development”, would address emerging realities in Geosciences and mining sectors of the economy.
“As a nation richly endowed with natural resources, Nigeria must adopt innovative, efficient, and sustainable approaches in managing these resources, while also building resilient infrastructure that can support long-term economic growth and environmental stability”.
She said Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno and other international dignitaries would grace the occasion while participants would visit Geosciences and mining sites in the state.
