The Federal Government has been called upon to as a matter of urgency set machinery in motion in order to reclaim all lands devastated by the activities of mining across the country to reduce the danger posed by such lands to the life of the inhabitants.
The call was made by the Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir who lamented that many innocent lives have been lost in Plateau State due to unreclaimed lands left behind by miners stressing that urgent action needs to be taken by the concerned authorities in the country.
The Governor declared that it is beyond the financial capacity of any state government to reclaim lands due to its capital intensive nature saying that, “The federal government need to collaborate with the miners to see the possibility of reclaiming the abandoned sites to save innocent lives”.
Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed who on Monday evening emphasized the need for turning around the Bauchi economic’s fortunes to a better one through putting the state on the global map of solid minerals spoke at the inauguration of Board of Directors of Bauchi Mining, Synergy and Exploration Limited (BAMSEL) held at the Council Chamber of the Government House.
The Governor emphasised that this has become necessary considering the abundant natural resources abound in the state in which most of the mineral resources are in high demand across the global market.
To this end, the Governor urged business community both local and international as well as corporate organisations to come and invest in the state’s mineral resources sector for the economic growth and development of the state.
He however assured all key stakeholders in the mineral resources development sector of the commitment of his administration to support them to develop the sector for the overall development of the state.
He said that “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this inauguration which is yet another milestone in our efforts towards realizing our potentials in the mining resources sector of the state economy.”
Bala Mohammed added that “During our campaign, we made some promises of laying a foundation for sustainable development of our economy through other sources of income as against the state traditional dependency on revenue from the federation account. Since 2019, when we took over the affairs of the state, every action we took is geared towards fulfilling our campaign promises”.
“With the discovery of oil in Bauchi and in our commitment to complement the efforts of the Federal government in achieving one of the cardinal principles of the economic recovery growth plan, we have created the Ministry of Natural Resources”, the Governor added.
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The Governor further said that “The objectives is to take proactive measures of reducing security risks in mining areas, enhance Internally Generated revenue for the state for service delivery, leverage on the abundant mineral deposits of the state for sustainable growth and development of Bauchi state.”
Bala Mohammed who said that the importance of harnessing other sources of revenue by the government cannot be overemphasized pointed out that, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated governments to diversify their economic sources through developing agriculture and natural resources.
He then charged members of the Board of Directors of the Company to use their expertise in assisting his administration to overcome the challenges affecting the smooth operations of the company to ensure effective service delivery.
He concluded that “Let me draw the attention of the appointees that government will give you the necessary support to a function, but I am expecting you to use your experience and professionalism to assist my government to achieve the set targets.”
While Responding on behalf of other members of the Board, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Company, Alhaji Abubakar Mahmoud Lawal pledged their readiness to discharge their assigned responsibilities diligently and to the best of their ability beneficial to both miners.
He further assured that the Board will ensure that the necessary things required for making mineral resources a major income earner for the state were harnessed calling for support and cooperation from miners and investors in the mineral resources industry.
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