The National Assembly (NASS) has said it is working closely with the executive to ensure that all bottlenecks impeding ease of doing business in the mining sector are removed so that the sector can perform optimally.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines and Steel Development and former Governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-Makura, disclosed this recently at the First Public Stakeholder Consultative Meeting for the formalisation of artisanal miners into cooperatives, small-scale miners into larger mineral and financial enterprises, and the design and implementation of an Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) remote sensing monitoring system in the mining and steel sector project held in Abuja recently courtesy of the World Bank assisted Mineral Sector Support For Economic Diversification (MINDIVER) project under the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD).
He said NASS was poised to provide enabling legislations that would enable the country become one of the most vibrant mining destinations around the world.
Senator Al-Makura said NASS had created a platform of round table discussion for the 3 sectors of power, Agric, and mines which are considered very critical and need to be supported to boost economic activities, create job opportunities and wealth.
He said the committees of the 3 sectors held a conference recently whose details were being packaged for proper legislation that would create a legal framework that recognises the activities of every stakeholder in the sector, beginning from the artisanal miners to small scale, medium scale, and big time miners.
He urged stakeholders to come up with suggestions and advice towards the emergence of the framework.
“While the framework is in the pipeline, some of you who have been in the industry for quite sometime and are familiar with the intricacies and lacunae that have prevented the industry from achieving its set goals can come forward with suggestions and advice on issues, particularly as they affect industry regulation,” he said.
Meanwhile, addressing the gathering of stakeholders earlier, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite who pointed out that poor implementation of existing laws has been a major set-back to the sector’s growth, said a remote sensing technology unit had been created in the ministry for improved monitoring of mining activies and enforcement of mining regulations.
“Although our legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for ASM in Nigeria is aligned with global best practice, we have had limited success with its implementation,” Adegbite noted.
