Enugu State Govt bans illegal mining

The Enugu State Government has  announced a ban on illegal mining in the state with immediate effect.

Correspondent Jude Ezike reports that the disclosure was made by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) for Enugu State, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia during the inauguration of a committee to review mining activities in the state.

The SSG  cautioned against illegal mining in the state, adding that dire consequences exist for flouting this government’s directive.

According to Prof. Onyia, Gov. Peter Mbah’s administration’s ban on illegal mining activities is to protect residents from any sort of hazard related to illegal mining and maintain equal rights of benefits accruable from the mineral resource to taxpayers.

The SSG said the ban aligned with Gov. Mbah’s directive on the report of the discovery of mineral resources in some communities and the mining of the resources without the government’s permission.

According to the SSG the The committee set up to review mining activities in Enugu is headed by the Commissioner for Environment, Prof. Sam Ugwu.

He stated that the committee will work to identify illegal mining sites, stop all illegal mining, review all environment assessment documents for all legal mining companies, and reassess and validate all mining companies in the state.