Stakeholders in the mining sector have proposed a 10 year renewable mining lease instead of the 25 years as captured in Section 66 of the Solid Minerals Mining Act 2007.
The stakeholders made their views known on Wednesday in Abuja during the public hearing of repeal and enactment of a Bill titled; “Nigeria Mineral Development Company Limited (Establishment) Bill 2023”, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals.
The stakeholders also canvassed for a 10 per cent benefit or more for host communities to ensure they derive the economic benefits for solid minerals extraction in their environment where the mining activities take place.
Speaking at the public hearing, the representative of Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Ms. Lumun Feese said despite the enactment of modern legislation for the mining industry not much has been achieved economically.
She stressed that the mining sector’s impact on the economy remained suboptimal, hovering below one percent of GDP by 2015.
Feese recalled that in 2016, the government approved an industry roadmap aimed to enhance the sector’s role as an economic driver, targeting a 3 percent GDP contribution by 2025.
While commending the House Committee for initiating these bills to address the staggering decline of the mining sector, she called for urgent need for the federal government to instill the highest standard of good governance in the mining industry.
Her words: “This call is similar to the government’s successful approach in the oil and gas sector demonstrated through the Petroleum Industry
Act (PIA) of 2021 to implement the Nigerian oil and gas policy, which was approved in 2007.
“The PIA overhauled the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for the oil and gas industry, establishing two regulatory agencies and fully commercializes the Nigerian National.”
Also, the representative of Renevlyn Development Initiative, Mr. Tobias Lengs decried the health hazard, the environmental degradation and the negligence of the miners that pose a danger to host communities.
He stated: “We suggest an upward review of the extraction net value revenue that goes to the Community Development Association. 10 percent is suggested and this should be reviewed periodically.
“The duration of a Mining Lease is 25 years and shall be renewable every 24 years as captured in Section 66 of the Solid Minerals Act. The 25 years mining lease arrangement is too long and leaves room for operators to get away with impunity at huge cost to the nation.
“A 10-year mining lease is proposed instead to compel operators to be more responsive and accountable for their actions.”
Lengs suggested that the Community Development Agreement should be flexible to allow the host community to determine exactly what they want to use the funds for without tying it to a particular line item.
He was of the opinion that their needs might change depending on the situation, hence the agreement details should not be open ended.
The stakeholders frowned also at the enormous powers by the minister which they suggested should be unbundled.
Earlier, the chairman of the Committee, Jonathan Gaza said the proposed legislation was necessary to transform the mining sector.
“We actually need a heavy rod in the mining sector. We need a vehicle where the government can be a player in the mining sector. A situation where 5 percent of whatever is extracted will be given to host communities and if this is achieved Nigeria will experience astronomical growth.”
