Chairman, Anambra State Mining Reform Committee, Professor Charles Ofoegbu,
says Governor Chukwuma Soludo, did not in any way ban mining activities
Angel Network News (ANN) reports that Prof. Ofoegbu while speaking during a one-day interface with the state miners at the SSG’s Conference Hall, Government House Awka, stated that Soludo only directed a temporal suspension of mining activities to enable the already set up Anambra State Mining Reform Committee to interface with state miners and share the global best practices he wants to mainstream through the ministries to reform the sector.
Prof. Ofoegbu, who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Anambra State Solid Minerals Development Company Limited, ASSMDCL, said that the interface was aimed at charting a better way to standardize mining activities across Anambra State to ensure that all their activities are in line with the law and global best practices.
Speaking through the Special Adviser to Governor Soludo on Security, Retired Air-Vice Marshall Ben Chiobi, who is also a member of the committee, Ofoegbu announced that there would be a revalidation exercise for all the miners in the state at the state Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to generate their comprehensive data and issue clearance certificate to those authorized by law to commence their mining business.
While asking those, whose equipment were ceased by government taskforce to write to the office of the Special Adviser to Governor on Security, stating clearly items ceased, when, and where and copy other relevant ministries, Professor Ofoegbu, who promised to make a case for their release, also urged those, who deposited money for bidding but lost out to go to AIRS office and demand for refund as the governor did not say no refund after payment.
Contributing, the Commissioner for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Barrister Anthoney Ifeanya, noted that they are not witch-hunting any body but only trying to have a unified system of mining in the state.
Bar. Ifeanya, while warning them to desist from illegal mining, which according to him, deprives the state of its revenue said a template will be made available to them through their heads and any body that meets up with the requirements as contained in the template will be issued clearance certificate to commence mining activities.
For the commissioner for Environment, Engineer Felix Odimegwu, Anambra State Environment is under existential threat with over 1,000 active erosion sites outside the new underwater erosion threatening Ogbaru and its environs.
Odimegwu noted that the negligence, in-activity, actions and in-actions taken on the environment for years by state miners are the cause of the present day environmental degradation, warning them to desist forthwith as the environment they abuse today will take its revenge on the future generation.
Some of the attendees while speaking assured to completely abide by the content of the template, and appealed for immediate lifting of the ban and periodic inspection of their sites.
