NEWS
Coalition Commends Alake on Revocation of Defaulting Mineral Titles
By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
A Coalition of 40 civil society organizations has commended the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake for taking the bold step of repositioning the Nigeria’s mining industry by revoking defaulting mineral titles.
The groups said it was high time that players engaging in illegal and fraudulent mining activities in Nigeria’s mining sector were stopped from their illicit activities.
The organizations, led by the Executive Director of Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI), Amb.
Melvin Ejeh, described the Minister’s action as the best thing to have happened in the mining industry in recent times, saying it was long overdue.Recall that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake on Tuesday, announced the revocation of 1,633 mineral titles over unpaid annual fees.
The action was the fallout of the Mining Cadastral Office which had on October 4, 2023, initiated the revocation process for 2,213 titles including exploration titles, small-scale mining licenses, quarry licenses, and mining leases.
The Minister explained that the mineral titles were revoked due to the holders’ failure to pay the prescribed annual service fees on time.
He said despite a 30-day default notice from the Mining Cadastre Office, the holders were found in violation and non-compliance with their statutory obligations to the government.
Reacting to the development in a joint press statement on Wednesday, the 40 civil society groups thanked the Minister for driving President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on Solid Minerals.
The statement was signed by the Executive
Director of GOPRI; National Co-ordinator of
Center for Justice and Good Governance in Africa, Engr Bashir Dan Zaria; Director,
Conference of North West Professionals Network (CONOWP); Dr (Mrs) Remi Edun for
Community Action for Development (CAD) and Dr Ngozi Amechi, National Women Empowerment Network. (NAWOEN) and Engr. Goni Sheriff, Executive Director, Access to Good Governance Initiative.
The groups appealed to the minister not to look back in his efforts to completely sanitize the nation’s mining sector just as they solicited support from stakeholders and Nigerians for him to succeed in his dream of leaving a good legacy.
The coalition said: “We wish to highly commend the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake for his bold efforts to sanitize our solid minerals industry thus repositioning it for utmost efficiency.
“It is no longer news that over the years, the mining sector has encountered various challenges that have prevented its growth. The sector is known to have been dominated by illegal mining activities, which not only deprived the nation of much-needed revenue and foreign exchange earnings but also resulted in environmental degradation.
“Given this, we wish to commend the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake for initiating the steps to reposition the sector.
“The minister’s actions have affirmed his commitment to elevating solid minerals to boost the Gross Domestic Product, GDD and as well as create employment opportunities for the teeming youths in the country. This is highly commendable. We appreciate this.”
According to the groups, “It is disheartening that only 580 title holders settled their debts, leading to the recommendation to revoke 1,633 mineral titles.”
“This is a sad reminder that some people were not genuine in their intention to explore the sector for the benefit of Nigeria but their personal and selfish reasons.
The group while noting that there might be pushback from some unpatriotic beneficiaries of the old order, however, vowed to rise in defense of laws made for the benefit of Nigerians.
“We are aware of any possible pushback from beneficiaries of this old order. However, we are determined to stand up in defense of promoters of good decisions made for the benefit of all Nigerians,” the statement read.
The Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) has clinched 15 Chairmanship seats in Saturday’s Local Government Elections in Abia, while the Young Progressives Party (YPP) won two seats.The Chairman of the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC), Prof George Chima, announced the result of the chairmanship poll at thecommission’s headquarters in Umuahia.
Chima said: “We have carried out the duty we were inaugurated on September 5 to undertake. “It was not an easy task, but we went out on our way to create awareness about the elections across the state. “It must be noted that, in recent times, this commission has not conducted an election where over 12 political parties took part, this on its own is a plus to the commission.”The ABSIEC boss said that the chairmanship and councillorship polls took place in the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs).He described the exercise as “free fair and credible”.He said that the elections were a demonstration of the commission’s dedication, focus and efficiency.Chima expressed joy that the commission successfully completed, in just two months, a task that typically required six to 12 months of effort.“I congratulate the winners and the losers too, because in any election there must be winners and losers.“The most important thing is that Abia has been peaceful and I want the peace to continue.“I appreciate the security agencies for their support, political parties for playing the game according to the rule,” Chima said.Report says that ZLP won in Isiala Ngwa South, Isiala Ngwa North, Umuahia North, Umuahia South, Ukwa East, Ukwa West, Obingwa, Aba North, Aba South, Isuikwuato, Umunneochi, Arochukwu, Bende, and Ohafia LGAs.The remaining two LGAs of Osisioma and Ugwunagbo were won by YPP. (NAN)
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris appeared on the “Saturday Night Live” TV comedy show on Saturday, adding a surprise jolt to the U.S presidential election ust three days before her with showdown with Republican Donald Trump.“Keep Calm-ala and carry on-ala,” Harris said in unison with the actor who plays her on the show, Maya Rudolph.
It was Harris’ first time on the show, which has had other presidential candidates over its decades-long run. Trump appeared during his first presidential bid in 2015, where he poked fun at his tendency to exaggerate and steer clear of policy specifics.He also appeared in 2004, long before he entered politics.A Trump aide said he didn’t know if he had been invited to appear this year.Earlier on Saturday, Harris and Trump’s planes shared the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the two candidates held dueling events in the southern state, one of a handful that will determine the outcome of Tuesday’s election.It was the fourth day in a row that the candidates campaigned in the same state.Only seven states are seen as truly competitive, but poll released on Saturday showed Harris holding a surprise lead in Iowa, a state Trump won easily in the last two elections.Trump and Harris stuck to familiar themes at their appearances.Trump said he would deport millions of immigrants if elected and warned that if Harris wins, “Every town in America would be turned into a squalid, dangerous refugee camp.”Campaigning in Atlanta, Harris said Trump would abuse his power if he returned to the White House.“This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and the man is out for unchecked power,” she said.More than 75 million Americans have already cast ballots, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida, in a sign of voter enthusiasm.In North Carolina, the western counties that were devastated by Hurricane Helene appeared to be voting at roughly the same rate as the rest of the state, according to Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer.At a later rally in Salem, Virginia, Trump said he ran for office to rescue the economy from “obliteration” even though it would have been easier to relax at one of his oceanfront resorts.“I didn’t need to be here today,” he said. “I could have been standing on that beach, my beautiful white skin getting nice and being smacked, being smacked in the face by a wave loaded up with salt water.”Trump was joined on stage by women from a local college swim team who have objected to competing against transgender athletes.Some of Trump’s TV ads have sought to capitalise on transgender controversies.Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has surpassed Donald Trump in a new poll in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released on Saturday.Women voters are likely responsible for the turnaround in a state that Trump easily won in 2016 and 2020.The poll of 808 likely voters, who were surveyed Oct. 28-31, has Harris leading Trump 47%-44% in Iowa, which has been trending deeply Republican in recent years.It is within the 3.4 percentage point margin of error, but it marked a turnaround from a September Iowa Poll that had Trump with a 4-point lead, the newspaper reported.“The poll shows that women — particularly those who are older or who are politically independent — are driving the late shift toward Harris,” the Register said.Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said the Iowa poll was “idiotic” and an outlier that has no credibility. (Reuters/NAN)The Katsina State chapter of the National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers, Employers of Nigeria, has inaugurated a 200-member task force committee to tackle vandals hiding under their umbrella.
Report says that during the inauguration in Katsina on Saturday, the association also launched its newly elected executive members in the state.
Alhaji Aminu Hassan-Soja, the North Regional President of the association, said the aim of the committee was to curtail vandalism in the state.
Hassan-Soja said: “There is no doubt, vandalism has now become a serious threat to the nation, and Katsina in particular, and accusing fingers are pointing at our members.
“To show the world that we are not vandals, criminals or thieves, but we are doing our legal businesses, that’s why we inaugurated this task force committee.
“The aim is to complement the efforts of government in tackling the activities of vandals in the nation, this is the focus of the committee.
“Our business is about buying and selling metals. I can confidently say that this business is contributing so much to the country’s economy, apart from reducing unemployment.”
He also revealed that scrap and waste dealers also clean the environment, and control the country’s economy through the supply of raw materials to over 70 per cent of Nigerian companies.
“Some of the companies we supply with the raw materials include steel, plastic, and also roofing sheets, where we supply them with scrap metals. We support the country’s economy through sustaining the recycling industry.
“Because without our activities, no investor will come to Nigeria because they can not see raw materials to process and make finished products.
“Also, most of our companies will wind-up because there’s no raw materials for them to process. This is where we contribute to the development of the country’s economy,” he said.
The regional president further explained that across the country, they have over 5 million members engaging and benefitting from the business, while Katsina accounted for over 200,000 members.
Also speaking, a member of Katsina State House of Assembly, representing Funtua constituency, Alhaji Abubakar Total said the assembly was not planning to ban the scrap activities, but trying to sanitise the business.
According to Total, there are some bad elements hiding under the association to vandalise and steal public and other people’s property in the state.
He explained that the assembly only urged the government to find a way of regulating their activities by engaging the leadership of the association and other relevant stakeholders. (NAN)
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