The Kwara House of Assembly has called on the State Government to be proactive in curbing illegal mining activities in the state.
This is sequel to a Motion on Notice, captioned “Need to Control Prevailence of Illegal Miners in the State,” raised by Saidu Baba (APC/Gwanabe/Gweria/Bani/Adena), during Wednesday plenary.
Baba expressed displeasure that the presence of mineral deposits in Baruten, Kaiama and Ifelodun Local Government Areas has attracted illegal mining aliens.
He said the presence of illegal miners in any part of the state always comes with attendant security implications such as drug dealing and consumption, rape, kidnapping and other nefarious activities that are inimical to peaceful coexistence.
Other lawmakers in their contributions expressed concern over the activities of illegal miners, saying they constitute loss of revenue to the government and environmental hazards to the residents of the state.
Reading the resolutions of the House, Speaker Yakubu Salihu urged Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to charge security agencies in the state to be proactive in ending on illegal aliens found in the state.
“They should also tackle the menace usually associated with the presence of illegal miners especially kidnapping, so that normalcy is restored in all affected parts of the state.
“We urge the Governor to strengthen and equip the state Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO) to enable it discharge its functions effectively and efficiently towards revenue generation and curbing criminal activities.
“We urge the Governor to collaborate with traditional community and religious leaders on the advocacy for safe and secure society through early reportage of strange movements of people at mineral resources sites within their domains,” the House resolved.
The state House of Assembly also received a petition on Land Scandal from Offa, Offa Local Government Area of the state.
The petition titled “Offa Local Government TIC Fraudulent Land Scandal and Untold Silence of the people,” was laid before the House by the lawmaker representing Kaiama-Kemaji-Wajibe constituency, Abdullahi Danbaba, at plenary.
Danbaba said the people of Offa commissioned a Civil Society Organisation, “Nigeria Citizens Action Group,” to put up a petition over land scandal in the area.
He urged the House to look into the petition with a view to getting to the root of the matter.
The Speaker thereafter referred the petition to the Committees on Housing and Urban Development to investigate the issue and report back in two weeks.