Nigeria Content Online

The senate committee on environment have threatened to shut
down the five stone mining companies operational at Mpape, a suburb of Abuja,
for none compliance with environmental safety laws.

The threat came after the committee, led by its chairperson,
Grace Bent (PDP Adamawa state) and the National Environmental Standard and
Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) paid an unscheduled inspection visit to
the quarries.

Mrs Bent and Ngeri Benebo, the director general of NESREA,
expressed dissatisfaction with the level of compliance with environmental laws
by the various quarrying companies in the area.

Some of the five stone mining companies operational in the
suburb have been blasting and crushing rocks in Mpape for over 30 years, but
none of them have an environmental impact assessment certificate or a plan on
how to remedy the environment after mining. Neither did any of the mining
companies have a corporate social responsibility project in the community.

The worst offender, according to the inspection team, was
Julius Barger Plc. They are the longest stone blasting company in the area, but
had neither an Environmental Impact Assessment certificate nor an Environmental
Management Plan. Their site also had a lake developing from their previous
mining pit which inspectors said was untreated and breeding mosquitoes.

“Can Julius Barger do this in Germany?” Mrs Bent asked the site
manager. “This is totally unacceptable in Nigeria.”

Non compliant miner

The senate committee chairman therefore gave them an ultimatum
of two weeks to develop an environmental management plan and conduct an
environmental impact assessment on the site adjourning community.

“We are giving you two week to do this or we will come back
here and shut this place down,” she said. “We cannot tolerate this; it is
totally unacceptable to us.”

Like Julius Barger, Arab Contractors and the rest of the
Chinese companies mining stones at the suburb were blasting the rock, causing
earth tremors, polluting the air with dust, and producing unsafe lakes from old
mining pits but have never conducted and environmental impact assessment on the
site.

Their workers were also not protected with safety kits, neither were they
insured. Kamel Eljilbal, who represented the management of Arab Contractors
Ltd, argued that the company had the necessary certifications; but Ihebinike
Kevin, an official of the federal ministry of environment, countered his claims
saying the ministry had no record of such certifications and neither did they
have any post mining plans from the company. The other mining companies which
the team visited also argued they had certificates and permits but could not
present them.