The Nasarawa State House of Assembly is set to conduct a fact finding visit to Abuni and Uke district in Awe and Karu local governments respectively after receiving a petition jointly signed by the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) and the Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF) detailing the state of the mining communities in the two local governments.
The petition dated 3 October 2024 wants the lawmakers to commission a comprehensive environmental audit of Abuni and Uke district and their source of water, revoke the mining license of any company found wanting, and scrutinize the agreements between the mining firms and traditional rulers in the communities affected.
Disclosing the decision of the Assembly to conduct the findings, the Chair of the Environment Committee, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Honourable Adamu Omadefu in a meeting in Abuja with representatives of RDI, EDEN and CSFF said that violators of the environment in the state will not be allowed to continue on that path.
Hon. Omadefu revealed that the committee on the environment has written to the State ministry of environment to provide a comprehensive list of the mining firms operating in Nasarawa state and that would be the starting point of investigation.
Executive Director of RDI, Philip Jakpor in his speech commending the planned action of the state, said that the developments in the mining communities in Nasarawa are particularly frightening and reminiscent of how the Niger Delta crisis began.
Jakpor pointed out that the environment and water sources in the mining communities have been adversely affected by indiscriminate extraction, even as he drew the attention of the lawmaker to Abuni where locals complained that waste water from one of the firms’ quarry was spewing chemicals into the Rafin Jaki River that locals consume and use for other domestic activities.
He explained that the situation in the mining communities is a ticking time bomb which will explode except something urgent and meaningful is done about the situation, going further to state that the oil curse in the Niger Delta is being replicated in sordid form through solid minerals extraction in the north.
EDEN Executive Director, Barrister Chima Williams commended the lawmaker for his passion to nip the situation in the bud maintaining that only someone who loves the people and believes in them can take up the challenge of addressing their concerns.
Williams reiterated that the civil society community in Nigeria is not against foreign or local investments that make life meaningful for host communities, even as he stressed that such investments must respect the rights of the people, respect their environment and respect the laws of the country.
Echoing similar sentiment, EDEN Deputy Executive Director, Comrade Alagoa Morris said that the sad developments in the Niger Delta after oil started leaving behind a trail of death and destruction must not be allowed to happen in the solid minerals sector.
Beyond what can be seen physically, in the Niger Delta oil has affected the life expectancy of most individuals leaving them vulnerable to illnesses.
Comrade Bomoi Mohammed of the CFSF welcomed the decision of the state to act on the petition from the three organisations and promised that the civil society community would give the exercise the needed support in terms of mobilizing the locals to share their bitter experiences as a result of the mining activities.