The Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development says it is collaborating with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to strengthen the operations of the mining sector.
The Federal Mining Officer in Kwara, Mr Henry Bolarinwa, said this on Tuesday in Ilorin at an interactive/sensitisation forum on mining operations.
The forum themed: ‘A formidable Law Enforcement Agency in the Mining Sector: Looking forward to a more cordial relationship with critical stakeholders’, was to drive home the diversification agenda of the Federal Government.
Bolarinwa described mining as a critical sector in the diversification agenda of the government.
According to him, mining is a shift from oil, which is monolithic in nature to multifaceted economy.
He emphasised the environmental impact of excavating beyond specified measurements, considering its negative effects on host communities.
The mining officer, however, encouraged miners to consider the need to make adequate provisions on development fund as compensation on whatever they mined.
In addition, tipper operators were advised to see haulage and ticketing as essential revenue drive of the state government to maintain numerous infrastructural developments and basic amenities for the benefits of the masses.
The Kwara Commandant of NSCDC, Mr Makinde Ayinla, urged the tipper association wing of the miners to always be conscious of whatever goods or commodities their drivers were conveying.
This is because most of these tippers are being used by vandals to convey vandalised critical infrastructure like electrical cables, railway tracks, etc.
”I urge them to always report strange occurrences on mining activities in their respective domains to NSCDC, as security is everybody’s business,” he said. (NAN)
