The Director General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom, Monday solicited the assistance and inputs from the National Assembly to improve the Mining Cadastre Office and transform the mining sector in the country.
This was even as the Senate Committee Chairman on Solid Minerals Development, Senator Osita Ngwu, commended the MCO for its migration to electronic mining cadastre in line with best practices, saying that the government was having a new direction from oil to solid minerals.
Nkom made the appeal when the Solid Minerals Development Committee Chair paid a familiarisation visit to MCO in Abuja.
He said the agency’s mandate was to grant mining licences across the country, adding that MCO was the only legal way to mining industry.
The DG explained that major reforms like migrating to a web-based online (real time mineral title administration system has led to investor’s confidence.
The MCO boss in a statement issued by the Head Press, Folashade Fatoke, opined that organisation structure and establishment of full operational zonal offices in six geopolitical zones has also boosted efficiency.
He noted: “We have an organisational structure and we have the zonal offices in six geopolitical zones with various departments and staff being able to have different functions. The agency since inception has enjoyed a near 100% success in litigation which ranges from communities and other conflicts.
“Our legal unit is very strong because anywhere you have wealth, you will know that there are always challenges and people has reasons to go to court. So far so good, since the inception of mining cadastre and we have series of litigations and irrespective of that we have a near 100 per cent success in litigations.” Nkom said.
On his part, Ngwu commended the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, saying the government was looking at gas exploration and solid mineral.
According to him, we know the challenges of the solid mineral industry, putting all this challenges together, we are going to look at the legislative framework and get the system working
Ngwi stressed: “My visit here is to familiarise myself with the agency and not to ask questions because we are still studying what is going on and looking at the policy direction of the government because the government has to direct, ours is to support, oversight and put up legislative framework to make sure that the government succeed.
“Nigeria is important to everybody we’re all going to work as a team together to make sure that the country move forward.”
The Senate Committee Chairman stressed the need for all to work together despite challenges facing the sector even as he assured full support of the Senate so as to make the desired progress in the sector.