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Nigerian government vows to tackle illegal mining

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The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Uche Ogah, said on Friday the Federal Government is determined to permanently check illegal mining in different parts of the country.

The minister stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, at the Government House, Umuahia.

According to him, the federal government has designed strategies to harness the ingenuity of the artisan miners and encourage them to form cooperatives.

Ogah said the government was determined to implement policies that would ensure that issuance of mining permit is followed with active mining within the first six months of receiving the permit.

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This policy, the minister pointed out, was to ensure that only genuine and serious investors enjoyed the business opportunities in the industry.

He said the Nigeria mining industry has the potential to boost the nation’s economy and the government was poised to address the challenges facing the sector.

He promised government’s determination to address the problem of erosion ravaging many parts of the state.

He said: “Politics is over, it is time now for governance. I will always project issues that will help to develop the state.

“We should all work as a team for us to develop programmes for the betterment of the people and development of the state.”

Ikpeazu congratulated Ogah on his appointment, saying ”there is a lot to achieve for the state from the centre.”

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