…Rakes in N2bn from mining royalties, fees 

From Magnus Eze, Abuja 

Even as the Federal Government assures of its commitment to see to the revival of the abandoned National Iron Ore Mining Company Limited (NIOMCO), the management of the organisation has identified lack of perimeter fencing as huge threat to its equipment.

The management, however, said that it is poised to secure the over $1 billion Federal Government investment.

Sole Administrator/Chief Executive of NIOMCO, Mr. Bernard Nnagha, who raised the alarm while speaking to a delegation of Mining Reporters led by Chief of Staff to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. O’Seun Odewale in Itakpe, Kogi State, noted that the vast expanse of 8,000 hectares had been difficult to police.  

He disclosed that management, in collaboration with the police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has engaged 30 local vigilante guards to provide security.

NIOMCO was abandoned over eight years ago following ownership issues occasioned by privatisation.

According to Nnagha, “with the continued support of the Minister, management is currently doing everything to secure and maintain the over $1 billion Federal Government investment at NIOMCO,  despite the challenging vast expanse of over 8,000 hectares of land, remote location, bushy environment, absence of perimeter fencing and funds constraints.”

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Meanwhile, the Federal Government, at the weekend, disclosed that the mining sector now contributes N2 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the N700 million obtainable when the President Muhammadu Buhari administration assumed office.

Chief of Staff/Technical Assistant to Minister of Mining and Steel Development, Mr. O’Seun Odewale, made the disclosure at a three-day training workshop for journalists in Lokoja, Kogi State.

He attributed the additional N1.3 billion generated from mining royalties and licence fees to the ongoing strategic reforms in the sector introduced by the leadership of Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

The Minister’s aide also said the dormant Solid Minerals Development Fund has been reconstituted with the Federal Executive Council approving N30 billion intervention for the fund.

Odewale disclosed that the Federal ‎Government was sourcing the sum of $600 million from a consortium of the World Bank, African Development Bank and others, for the development of the mining sector.

He explained that expectation of government is to grow the sector at 7 per cent in the next 10 years so that the current abysmal .33 per cent contribution to GDP could hit 3 per cent by 2025.

In his presentation, a former Director ‎of Mines Inspectorate in the Ministry, Mr. Dauda Awojobi, said that government was encouraging artisanal miners to form cooperatives and make their operations legal.

He added that a taskforce has been set up in all the states to curb illegal mining while a collaboration with Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is also checking illegal export of solid minerals.