Reps committee proposes 5% mining revenue for host communities

Solid minerals host communities in the country may soon have a cause to cheer as the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals has said it is proposing five per cent of revenues on solid minerals for them.

The chairman of the committee, Jonathan Gaza, disclosed this on Monday at a public policy dialogue on Nigeria’s minerals and mining legislation, organised by the committee at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

According to Gaza, the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (Amendment) Bill being considered would give five per cent of the total revenue of all minerals mined to the host communities.

He further stated that the bill, when passed, would allow for the establishment of a Mines Inspection and Environmental Agency to provide improved and deeper oversight of mining activities and bridge the gap between the federal and state governments to empower the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee for effective and joint oversight.

He said: “The establishment bill for a Solid Minerals Development Company allocates 75 per cent ownership to the private sector and 25 per cent to the federation of Nigeria. Community Development and the Environment are prioritised in the bill. The Petroleum Industry Act sets aside three per cent of their annual operational expenditure for host communities.

Read also: BLACKOUTS: Non-performing Discos to lose 50% operating expenditure —Nigerian govt

“In the bill, we have set aside five per cent of the revenue for all minerals mined to the host communities, and this is due to the informality of the sector. We believe that it can be reviewed and improved through this programme.”

The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, who attended the session, said non-Nigerians operating in the nation’s solid minerals sector were earning big, leaving the citizens with peanuts.

The governor called for institutional reforms to turn around the fortunes of the sector for the benefit of Nigerians.

Sule said: “One community in Nasarawa got some kind of compensation of a very small amount of N700m. They were so excited but this was nothing compared to the time when lithium was running roughly about $76,000 per metric ton.

“If we are serious about the future of the economic situation of Nigeria, we must reform what we call the solid mineral sector and if we must reform, we must come up with policies and reform them to benefit Nigerians. If we don’t do that, we will just be joking.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now