Miners in Nigeria have condemned alleged state governments’ abuse of the 2007 Mining Act and Mining Regulations of 2011.
They are seeking prompt intervention from President Bola Tinubu to avoid a clash of interests in the sector.
Section 44 sub section 3 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and section 1 sub 1 of the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act 2007, place the ownership of mineral resources and mining regulations on the Exclusive Legislative List.
These provisions contain enough measures to address the socio-economic and environmental concerns of the lower tiers of government.
But in the past months, particularly with new governments at the states, there have been a clash of interests with Miners in Nigeria.
For instance, the Miners Association of Nigeria, MAN, accuses the Taraba State government of usurping the powers of the Central government and unjustly hounding its members into detention.
At this News conference, MAN insists state governments do not necessarily need to flaunt new regulations since the federal government is statutorily empowered to do so.
The Association says Executive Orders banning mining activities in states such as of Ebonyi, Osun, Enugu, Cross River, Taraba and others, negate the law.
MAN reaffirms its stance against illegal mining but calls on state governments to fight the menace with relevant stakeholders.
