By the time the National Assembly is through with the amendment of the Nigeria Mineral Development Company Ltd (Establishment) Bill 2023, there should be enough window for better benefits for communities where solid minerals are mined in the country. This indication came to the fore Wednesday in Abuja during the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals. The public hearing was to get contributions from Nigerians on the effort to repeal and re-enact the the law.
At the hearing, stakeholders asked for 10 percent benefits to host communities, while they also requested a cut in the period of the lease down from 25 years, which is stated in Section 66 of the Solid Minerals Act of 2007. In its stead They want a period of 10 years. This, they said, would curb certain activities of mining companies and their workers. They also want an emphasis on peaceful peaceful co-existence between miners and indigenous communities.
ion has trailed in the solid mineral sector as stakeholders have called for 10 per cent benefits to host communities and ensure peaceful coexistence between miners and indigenes.
Speaking at the hearing, a representative of the Renevlyn Development Initiative, Tobias Lengs, lamented the health risk of mining activities owing to environmental degradation and the lack of proper care for miners in host communities. Stakeholders demand a 10 per cent benefit for solid minerals host communities.
Lengs said, “We suggest an upward review of the extraction net value revenue that goes to the Community Development Association. 10 percent is recommended and this should be reviewed periodically.
“The duration of a mining lease is 25 years and shall be renewable every 24 years as captured in Section 66 of the Solid Minerals Act. The 25-year mining lease arrangement is too long and leaves room for operators to get away with impunity at a huge cost to the nation. Instead, a 10-year mining lease is proposed to compel operators to be more responsive and accountable for their actions.
“The community development agreement should be flexible to allow the host community to determine exactly what they want to use the funds for without tying it to a particular line item. Their needs may change depending on the situation, hence the agreement details should not be open-ended.”
However, representatives of the Environmental Defenders Network and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency faulted the bill on the ground, saying it gave the minister too much power.
They said, “The bill gives too much power to the minister. Other ministries relevant to the subject including the Ministry of Environment should be involved.”.
On his part, Lumun Feese, representing the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, noted that despite enacting new laws to sanitise the sector, not much has been achieved concerning revenue to the government and improved standard of living for Nigerians.
He said, “The mining sector’s impact on the economy remains suboptimal, hovering below one per cent of Gross Domestic Product by 2015. In 2016, the government approved an industry roadmap to enhance the sector’s role as an economic driver, targeting a three per cent GDP contribution by 2025”.
Speaking further Feese commended the committee for initiating the bills to address the staggering decline of mining, even as he called on the Federal Government to make deliberate efforts to promote good governance in the sector.
“This call is similar to the government’s successful approach in the oil and gas sector demonstrated through the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 to implement the Nigerian oil and gas policy. The PIA overhauled the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for the oil and gas industry, establishing two regulatory agencies and fully commercialising the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.”