Global Rights Nigeria and Federation of Nigerian Mining Host Communities, have tasked government on social safeguards, environmental and socio-economic sustainability of mining host communities in the country.
According to FNMHC in a communique at the end of its two-day inaugural meeting on Friday in Abuja urged the government to stop the”exploitation” and environmental degradation of host communities by mining communities across the country.
The host communities in a communique read by Dr. Daniel Maddo, stated that where land is acquired for mining purposes, the value of compensation should be commensurate to the commercial value of the size of the land and the impact the community will suffer.
“Mining laws and policies must reflect the reality that more than 80% of mining activities in Nigeria are artisanal in nature and therefore must make provision for these activities; and ensure that artisanal mining contributes to government revenue, while respecting environmental safeguard.
“The legal requirements guiding social safeguards, in particular, the process of reaching Community Development Agreements and obtaining social license for mining should be strengthened to effectively protect the rights of mining host communities, and reflect their collective desires.
“The legal requirements for Environmental Impact Assessments should be expanded to become Environmental, Social, and Human Rights Impact Assessments, and should develop standards for even artisanal mining,” they said.
Fielding questions from jiurnalists present, Executive Director of Global Rights (Nigeria), Abiodun Baiyewu, urged the federation to hold government accountable for effects of mining activities in their communities.
She said: “This event is basically the inauguration of the Federation of Nigerian Mining Host Communities so that the communities can by themselves begin to advocate their issues directly with government and other stakeholders. Many of them lack the capacity to do what they want to.
“Therefore, we want to ensure a joint effort in order for them to take a hold of themselves. However, government can intervene in the issues affecting the communities. In fact, the job of the federation is to hold government accountable for what they should do for these communities. We hope they will take forward this laudable project.”
For his part, the Executive Director, Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation (NEWF), Dr Okezie Kelechukwu, opinwd that mining companies take advantage of the ignorance of the host communities to exploit them, even as he implored the government to intervene.
“The issue of mining is of global and national concern because even government has started talking about post petroleum era. However, we realised that mining industries take advantage of the ignorance of host communities to exploit them. In fact, the states where mining is going on are often impoverished, despite the abundant resources.
“Their rights are infringed upon and their lands degraded by corporate and artisanal miners. Therefore, this summit will build their capacity so that they can develop using the resources God endowed them with. Government should ensure that host communities are encouraged, because it is from them that resources for national development are gotten,” he said.
The two-day inaugural summit had in attendance representatives of mining host communities from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, including Nassarawa, Osun, Taraba, Niger, Kogi, Zamfara, Gombe, Ogun, Ebonyi and Plateau states.