Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Lekan Adegbite. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official web page of Ministry of Mines and Steel Development || www.minesandsteel.gov.ng]The federal government will slash the allocation of states where registered mining companies are taxed by local and state governments, the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, has said., presented a memo before the Federal Executive Council, asking for approval to address the major challenges the mining industry is facing.
“In other words, if a particular state engages in double taxation, you are imposing illegal taxes on a duly registered mining company, and it is reported to the government, the Ministry of Finance will deduct that money from your allocation. “Notably, in the North-Western part of the country, mining has been suspended because of the activities of bandits and kidnappers.
“Before now, the position is that any miner that wants to use explosives for mining must store them in either the military barracks or police facilities.” “But at the end of the day, what the council approved for him and which we believe will be far-reaching and really reposition the industry is that: the council noted that insecurity and illegal mining had led to a huge loss of money.should set up a special unit domiciled in the Federal Capital Territory , Abuja, and coordinated by the Office of National Security Adviser to carry out targeted operations at identified and confirmed illegal mining sites nationwide.