Solid Minerals: Senate Vows to Ensure Judicious Use of N1 Trillion Budget

•Ndume commends Tinubu’s emergency declaration on food security

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Chairman Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, Senator Ekong Sampson, has said the 10th Senate will closely monitor to ensure the judicious use of the N1 trillion earmarked in the 2025 budget to revive and boost the solid minerals’ sector.

Sampson, who represents Akwa Ibom South said this while on an oversight to Mining Sites in Jos, Plateau State.

Sampson spoke through his deputy, Senator Mustapha Khabeeb, at the Palace of the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, during a courtesy call on the traditional ruler, according to a statement by the committee yesterday.

He expressed the determination of the 10th Senate to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s drive to revitalise the solid minerals’ sector in Nigeria to boost economic development.

He said Jos occupies a pride of place in the solid minerals’ sector and called on traditional rulers to check the activities unlicensed miners who have been exploiting the sector at the expense of licenced operators.

He pledged the Senate’s determination to assist the president in achieving the objective.

On his part, the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, told the committee that insecurity has continued to grow due to illegal mining activities.

He revealed that young Nigerians in the state were being killed in the mining pits while institutions and other residential buildings were being threatened due to devastating mining activities.

The traditional ruler noted sadly that the hike in foodstuffs in the state was as a result of increasing illegal mining activities, and pointed out that the decline in school enrollment in the state was also due to mining activities.

The royal father revealed that, it was the reason, the Plateau State Government activated the Executive Order 001, which has temporarily suspended mining activities in the state.

He, however, revealed that some persons haven’t stopped mining, in spite of the order.

The Gbong Gwom Jos called on the Senate Committee to insist that the Minister of Solid Mineral’s Development to do the needful in regulating mining activities in Nigeria.

Also, the Chairman, Mining Association of Nigeria, Plateau State Chapter, Musa Paul Gindiri, urged the Nigerian Senate to prevail on the federal government to relinquish powers of mining activities to state governments.

He also suggested the removal of mining from the exclusive list of the federal government for flexibility.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Borno South. Ali Ndume, has commended the federal government’s declaration of national emergency on food security.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, made the declaration on Monday while opening the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja.

Tinubu had urged expanded irrigation infrastructure and participatory water resource management nationwide.

He noted that the country had more than 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land located around key river basins such as the Niger and Benue.

However, Ndume in a statement yesterday, declared that, “giving the needed impetus to food production would go a long way in bringing down the prices of farm produce in the market.”

He also advocated for the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency to be under the direct supervision of the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The lawmaker said such a new Department would ensure “that Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) comply with budget implementations to the letter and promote positive government policies.”

Ndume also called on State Governors to emulate the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, who has since declared state of emergency on food security in Borno State.