Permanent Secretary of Plateau State Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development, Yabilsu Dogo, has said no fewer than 100 illegal miners have been arrested in Jos in the past week.
Speaking yesterday in his office, Dogo revealed that the ministry has been collaborating with the police to halt illegal activities.
He said illegal mining has been posing serious threats to both human settlements and the environment in the state, adding that one major immediate danger of illegal mining was land degradation, as illegal miners dig indiscriminately, creating deep pits and tunnels that weaken the soil structure.
He said the government revenues were being lost to unregulated mineral extraction, depriving the state of funds that could have been used for development.
ALSO, the Kogi State House of Assembly, yesterday, moved to place restrictions on foreigners from buying cashew nuts directly from local farmers and marketers.
The move was meant to protect local markets and develop value to boost the economy of the state.
The step to restrict foreigners came through a motion by Oluwaseyi Bello (APC), Kabba-Bunu constituency.
In his motion, the lawmaker argued that the exploitative practices of some foreign businessmen, who bypass local marketers to purchase cashew nuts directly from farmers, should be halted immediately.
The Speaker, Aliyu Umar Yusuf, affirmed the House’s constitutional authority to protect its citizens and directed the House Committee on Agriculture to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to develop and implement necessary regulations.
