As Reps probe over N2bn allegedly traced to state commander of Mining Marshalls.
THE Senate has called for a new law seeking tighter regulation and penalties for mining activities in the country as it received the news of the death of 20 workers during a landslide in Alufele in Enjema District within the Ankpa coal mining area of Kogi State.
The incident, which happened on July 14, resulted from “significant ground failure,” leading to the death of the workers and leaving several others seriously injured.
The chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Isah Jibrin, brought the incident to the attention of the Senate as a matter of urgent national importance, noting that unsafe methods deployed by artisanal miners placed the lives of Nigerians at high risk.
“Many of the miners operating within these coal fields work under informal arrangements without written contracts of employment, social security protection, health insurance, life insurance or occupational hazard insurance, thereby leaving victims and their families without any form of financial protection whenever mining accidents occur,” Jibrin informed the Senate.
Lawmakers called for tighter regulation and penalties against offenders, beginning with an audit of licensed miners in “their areas of mining activities in Nigeria.” They proposed a new bill to establish a mining workers’ compensation scheme to be funded through mandatory contributions by mining firms and operators.
The scheme will, among others, provide compensation for occupational injuries, permanent disabilities, occupational diseases and death arising from mining activities.
The Senate also asked the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, to develop compulsory occupational accident insurance for “all categories of miners, including artisanal and small-scale miners operating under recognised mining cooperatives or community mining arrangements.”
A mine rehabilitation and victims’ support fund was also proposed to provide “emergency medical treatment” and support for the “children of deceased miners.”
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, unveiled plans to investigate allegations of financial impropriety within the unit, specifically the reported discovery of over N2 billion in the bank account of a state Commander of the Mining Marshals.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion on the need to investigate the performance, funding, legal status, and alleged corrupt practices and compromise of the mining marshals, sponsored by Honourable Abdulmaleek Danga.
The deputy speaker, Honourable Benjamin Kalu, therefore, mandated the Committee on Solid Minerals Development to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the actions and performance of the mining marshals across the country to determine if they are operating within their lawful mandate.
The committee is also to investigate allegations of corrupt enrichment, including the N2 billion account linkage against a former state commander, and similar cases of compromise across the 36 states and the FCT, as well as the source of funding for the recent purchase of operational vehicles, all external financial inflows, and the legal/budgetary provisions backing the expenditures of the Mining Marshals, the statutory compliance of the unit’s creation, structure, and composition to recommend an internationally best-practiced and legally compliant security model and report within four weeks for further legislative action.
