Nigerian Newspapers
‘We can generate over N 1 trillion from mining’
Mr Sunday Ekozin, is president Progressive Miners Association of Nigeria. He has been in the vanguard of those urging the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to reform the nation’s mining sector. In this interview Ekozin speaks on the prospects and problems of the sector. He spoke with Assistant Editor Nduka Chiejina and Nike Adebowale in Abuja
How long have you been in mining and why are you championing the reform in the mining sector?
I have been in this sector for well over two decades and I have been in the leadership seat of the miners association in Nigeria for almost ten years. But recently, because of politicking, we had to come up with a different body known as progressive miners association, to differentiate from orthodox miners association of Nigeria. Of course I was the president of the miners association of Nigeria before now but I presently the president of the Progressive Miners Association.
Ghana has been able to harness its resources, which is about 30 per cent of Nigeria’s mineral wealth. The current situation of the sector is just 0.3 per cent of the GDP contribution. This is solely from the sale of papers in the name of mining licenses which is about 7,000 mining licenses in the country. With less than one per cent of those mining licenses actually operating in the country or what you can call operational mines in the country.
We believe that mining is an antidote to all of these insurgencies that are taking place particularly across the Northern parts of the country. Our appeal is basically to Mr. President to set up a standing presidential committee otherwise we would just be dumping N15billion annually as budget to the ministry of mines and steel with nothing to contribute to the nation or to the sector. So if the sector must contribute to the national GDP, for us as operator we said 2 million jobs annually but to them in the ministry they said 3million jobs which is okay if they can create 3million jobs by their own record, the generation of employment thus far up to date since their establishment in 1995 of the ministry is less than 300,000 so what are we talking about, so we just need the political will and the patriotic drive to really amend these huge potentials. It is too massive and time will fail me to give you statistics.
Can you give us a little explanation on the proposed presidential committee on solid minerals?
Yes, the presidential committee, most of my colleagues in other professions like in the steel sector for example, the Nigeria society of engineers, the mineral raw material processing department of that society also are in the same page with us that there should be a presidential committee because the conventional ministry that is set up with tax payer money, that were having N50billion sunk into them year after year. This is accumulating just like a pool all manner of fund from both local and foreign intervention are consuming the whole thing without any impact being felt in mining and without actual development taking place in the mining sector. So, with all of these frustrations the option left is to have a standing committee that is responsible, patriot in Nigeria, stakeholders in the sector who will drive the system, reporting directly to Mr president, all what we need from our own point as operators, we don’t even need the government giving us 50billion to take off, just create a platform for us. We will galvanize the fund from international donors to drive the sector and we will generate between now and 2015 at least a trillion naira as revenue for the nation.
How?
We will generate this from royalties, we will generate all of these from taxes because once you create an economic stimulus as a government, mean the private sector will strive and when the private sector is striving to pay royalties and taxes and rents ensuing from mining and off course licenses and all other things will not be a problem. All we need do is just to create a platform and once that platform is there, we have assured him based on position papers we have presented that we will create on monthly basis an average of a 100,000 job monthly and we will report to the state government, we will ensure that all of these issues that we are experiencing in Zamfara where you have issues of infant deaths resulting from unethical mining, unprofessional mining due to lack of basic mining implement with less than N10million equipment that you can fabricate locally or import it to the country to do this. People are scratching the earth, using mortar used in pounding yam to engage in mining, I mean that is inhuman. We just need all of this, we know exactly what to do and if the platform is created to generate this money. Let me reiterate, as per jobs, we say as a group, we can generate about 2 million jobs, and an average of 100,000 jobs on monthly basis. But when they came up, when they modified the paper, they said they would generate 3 million jobs. 3 million jobs? By the same ministry that has generated so far about 300,000 jobs from 1995. I mean, it is laudable.
When you talked about two million jobs, what are the categories of jobs you are referring to? Is it artisanal or unskilled miners?
No, that’s what we are fighting against. What we are doing currently is just slavery in mining. Where the slave masters – the Chinese come with their pockets loaded and say, my friend, jump into that hole, get me anything you can get there, money is ready if you finish the job, I will give you money. That is the situation we are in currently, and our people are dying. So long as they want to escape poverty and they are seeing the money, they want to die doing it. So we want to stop that. And the way to stop that is to raise new and modern plants that will not cost more than N10 million. In fact, in some cases, for mining purposes, all you need is a pole and a drill and that’s enough, and those things are less than N5million for the artisanal families who are in villages and all that. And that’s nothing because these are monies you can get back within a month. The resources are just there and local market is massive. Our importation of raw materials is ridiculous.
You said miners are buried under earth regularly, why are they not reported?
You know in cases like this, they are often termed illegal miners. If they are illegal miners, are they not Nigerians? Are you not to protect the lives of Nigerians? Must you say because somebody is involved in illegal mining, he should just perish like that? If it is so, why is the federal government setting up amnesty for Boko Haram that is destroying lives of human beings? So we should be concerned about them.
There is an ecological fund but we have been hearing that the fund has been diverted. With your call for a presidential committee do you want the money transferred to that committee?
Last month we made a paper position when we saw the National Assembly discussing the natural recourses development fund, now by the funding there is eight hundred and seventy three billion naira (N873 billion) in that account, is deductions made from incomes of 1.75 per cent from the sale of oil and gas now that fund is there, you know Nigerians we never talk about issues like this issue of development how do we get there nobody want to talk about it they only talk about money when money is involve that is when the National Assembly are interested and what happen is this is another conspiracy theory. The ministry for mine and steel, set up the solid mineral development funds purportedly approved by Mr. president but with no single dime from that fund to take off by the board there was no allocation whether as a budget or a direct fund sent to that and of cause we as the operators have completely rejected the constitution of that board we have made it known publicly and we have made it known privately that the constitution of that board is illegal because the head and the people that make up that board to operate that solid mineral development fund are people with questionable character and Mr president has been mislead by approving that board and so we have asked that the board be reconstituted to be made up of the actual stakeholders to manage that solid mineral fund, what they now did was the board and the beneficiaries now went to National Assembly to blackmail the presidency into pushing part of that fund into solid mineral development fund that was why it came up recently so when I was then president of the National Association of Nigeria Miners in 2009 not now that I am now the president of Progressive Miners, we took up the matter then to the National Assembly as at that time it was N400 billion and requested that a N100 billion be given as a loan to banks with conditions spelt out, not as a grant, so that miners can have access to the fund and develop the sector it was never supported.
Do you think the president will listen to and agree with you to set up this standing committee?
We hope he will, and we have no personal agenda, and we want to see development in this sector, and that is why we are not involved in any government contract. We told them that if you don’t do the right thing we are not interested.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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