Yesterday, the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) urged the federal government to prevent states from outlawing mining.
The Nigerian constitution, according to MAN’s national president, Dele Ayanleke, never gives states the authority to forbid mining activity within their borders.
He said that the constitution only granted states the authority to control the mining industry.
Ayanleke responded to the recent state government crackdown on illegal miners by saying: “Our positions remain constant: Miners Association of Nigeria is categorically opposed to any form of illegality in the sector, whether in the regulatory or operational wing of the sector.
Our motto, “The Watchdog of The Mining Industry,” along with our membership admittance procedure, which forbids unauthorised operators, serve as powerful testimonials to this assertion. Do you need to outlaw criminal activity or take preventative or corrective measures?
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“Do you issue a ban or form a committee to enforce a ban when armed robbers enter your home? How can someone other than the mother in the home determine which of the family’s children is a bastard and which is a legal child?
How can a state government distinguish between legitimate and unauthorised miners if it doesn’t provide mining permits?
Where are the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development’s agencies that grant licences and oversee the industry’s regulation in all of this nonsense?
What happens to the Nigerian Constitution, which all of our elected and appointed political authorities have taken an oath to uphold?As the lead administrator/regulator of this issue that is progressively growing into a behemoth, our Minister and the entire Ministry of Solid Minerals Development apparatus cannot longer afford to keep mute.
