‘Form Mining Companies, Apply For Licences’- Alake Urges State Governors
The governors have advocated for stronger intergovernmental relations in coordinating the activities of the sector from licencing, surveillance, to operational safeguards.
By Friday Okeregbe Updated May 17, 2024
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake, has called on state governors to establish mining companies and apply for licences.
This was revealed in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), held on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the communiqué, Alake said the decision was reached on recent policies, institutional and operational reforms undertaken by the ministry, in harnessing the mining potentials of the country.
“He sought the cooperation of State governments in his drive to create an enabling business environment for investors, support artisanal and small-scale mining cooperatives, address illegal mining, and de-risk the sector. The Minister encouraged State Governments to form mining companies and apply for mining licences,” the statement read in part.
However, while the governors said they “welcomed the reforms”, they advocated for stronger intergovernmental relations in coordinating the activities of the sector from licencing, surveillance, to operational safeguards.
Alake’s call follows reports of ongoing illegal mining activities across the states of the federation.
Channels Television had recently, investigated the activities of illegal miners inside the premises of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), prompting an uproar from the school’s management and the public.
The minister had since inaugurated a security outfit to fish out perpetrators of illegal miners and bring them to book.
The government doesn't just show up and seal a place when you complain. They issue warnings and educate the offender. Places are only sealed when the offender continues the offensive action despite several warnings.
Similarly, buildings are not demolished immediately government notices that there is an infraction. Abatement and removal notices are served, so that the offender can remove the offending structure by himself. Discussions are also held. It's only when the offender is recalcitrant, despite several warnings, that the building is demolished.
Depot: And the mosques , the real noise makers are allowed to continue disturbing peoples peace.
naptu2: Lasepa has taken action against lots of churches, mosques, music stores, hotels, bars and factories that have been engaged in noise pollution and there are many nairaland threads about those incidents, so I'll encourage you to complain, because the system works.
You're the one who brought religion into this discussion.
What has muslim or religion got to do with my original post?
Why do you keep mentioning Islam? What's my business with Islam?
Is Russia a Muslim country? Answer that.
Ignore that guy.
This thread has nothing to do with religion, but he is determined to derail the thread by posting about Islam. I'll report him to the mods very soon if he keeps derailing the thread.
Can you imagine that vibratingpenis thinks that I am going to read his nonsense?
I give people one or two chances to make sense and when they show me that they can't, I simply put them in the ignore list. I will never read their posts.
The reason for the riot is very clear and any sensible person knows what it is, but for some reason this funny guy showed up to try and forcefully make it about Islam, even though it isn't.
He has attacked two people on this thread, using Islam as a plank, even though their posts have nothing to do with Islam.
Is that the person that should be taken seriously?
He can waste his time and energy and continue to mention me, but I am not going to read his posts. I have better things to do with my time.
This is for those that can't read the article and those that might be misled by mischief makers.
New Caledonia is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, near Australia (and far away from Europe).
It is a possession of France, just as Britain owns St Helena which is not far from Nigeria (and is far away from Britain).
Voters register in New Caledonia has not been updated since 1998. This is because some of the indigenous Kanak people fear that new comers from Europe will dominate them (the population of New Caledonia is 300,000).
However, the French Government now wants to update the voters register and indigenous people are afraid that this will allow European new comers to vote and to dominate them. This is the reason for the riot.
It has nothing to do with religion (ignore the mischief makers). Most of the people of New Caledonia are either Christians or atheists.
This is for those that can't read the article and those that might be misled by mischief makers.
New Caledonia is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, near Australia (and far away from Europe).
It is a possession of France, just as Britain owns St Helena which is not far from Nigeria (and is far away from Britain).
Voters register in New Caledonia has not been updated since 1998. This is because some of the indigenous Kanak people fear that new comers from Europe will dominate them (the population of New Caledonia is 300,000).
However, the French Government now wants to update the voters register and indigenous people are afraid that this will allow European new comers to vote and to dominate them. This is the reason for the riot.
It has nothing to do with religion (ignore the mischief makers). Most of the people of New Caledonia are either Christians or atheists.
naptu2: I think this is a really good opportunity to look at things from the other side.
Lagos State environmental agencies have been in the news recently because they've been carrying out regulatory enforcement. We've heard stories about places that have been shut or demolished, we've heard the side of the owners of those places and we've heard the side of the government. There is one side that has been missing in all of these.
You see, in most cases the government doesn't just go to shut down or demolish these premises. In most cases government action is as a result of complaints from members of the public. Complaints like the one below.
And just as the owners of the shut or demolished properties are not happy with government, many of the complainants are also not happy with government.
As has often been said, government doesn't just go to demolish or seal places. They usually do this only after a lot of warnings have been ignored. Those warnings are also a problem for the complainant. I'll give you some examples.
The government recently demolished some structures that were built on the Ikota canal and it is still going to demolish more structures. It was proven that the government has issued several warnings to the owners of those properties since 2019.
I told you that I saw tweets by someone that was complaining about those structures. He said that they had also warned the owners of the structures many times. He said that they experience flooding in their area because the owners had blocked the canal. He tweeted before and after pictures of the area.
Now imagine that you are that complainant above and you have complained to the government since 2019 and nothing has been done because the government was warning the owners and giving them time to voluntarily remove their structures. Imagine that you have been suffering the floods every year, but government has done nothing about your complaints, how would you feel?
I remember when the former head of LASEPA gave details of their processes. He said that they don't just shut places down for noise pollution. They first advise them, that is, tell them what the problem is and how they can solve it, then they come back later to monitor the situation (or the complainant can complain again), then they issue a first warning if the situation is still the same, then a second warning and then they seal off the property.
Some Nigerians have no patience for that.
I was advising someone to contact LASEPA a few years ago, when another person butted in and said that LASEPA doesn't do anything. He said that they are only there to collect money for regulations.
Yet I know many people that have had their problems solved satisfactorily by LASEPA. I guessed that the guy had a complaint and didn't have the patience to follow through and I was right.
A very good example is that girl that reported a church. She made a tweet thread about it and I converted it into a Nairaland thread. She didn't just report the church once. She reported them and they started praying against her, then she reported them several more times and they eventually had to change the location of their vigil because LASEPA was on their case.
This is a screenshot of someone reporting an abbatoir. He was responding to a tweet by a government official about the fact that the market management at Alaba Rago organised a cleanup campaign after seeing what has happened to other markets in Lagos.
naptu2: What you are asking for already exists both at the federal and state levels.
Unfortunately I'm in transit at the moment, so I'm going to compose this post entirely from my memory, but I'll provide more information when I get to my destination.
The law that created the Nigerian Environmental Safety Regulatory Agency (NESREA) empowers it to set noise limits. Individuals and organisations must comply with this limit or they will be made to pay fines for every day that they contravene the regulation and they can also be jailed. Unfortunately I can't remember what the limit is.
In Lagos State, LASEPA has set a limit of 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night. I watched an episode of Sunrise Daily (between 2005 and 2009) in which the then commissioner of environment, Dr Muiz Banire talked about noise pollution.
He said that he tested the generator in his home and discovered that he was contravening the law and he had to get it soundproofed. He said that citizens could complain to LASEPA and LASEPA would initially issue a warning to the defaulter to reduce the noise being emitted. Then they will conduct inspections to see if their warning is being complied with and lastly, they will seal the property if the problem continues.
I've posted a long list of example of action taken against churches, mosques, bars, factories, hotels etc. and ways in which you can contact LASEPA. I'll search for them when I get to my destination or you can use the Nairaland search bar and type " Naptu2 Lasepa "
naptu2: The Lagos State Government has held several meetings with religious leaders, club owners, etc. over the past 22 years to educate them about Lagos State laws on noise pollution and to tell them what they can do in order to comply with the law.
● Churches have been advised to remove external speakers and the big churches with powerful internal speakers have been advised to soundproof their halls.
● Nightclubs, bars and other such entertainment venues have been advised to soundproof their halls.
● Mosques have been advised not to use external speakers during prayers.
etc.
In recent times the traffic law enforcement agencies have also had issues with nightclubs that hold special events at Christmastime, but do not have enough parking space for their patrons and they end up parking on the road and obstructing traffic. The government has advised them to provide adequate parking space for their patrons.
naptu2: Lasepa has taken action against lots of churches, mosques, music stores, hotels, bars and factories that have been engaged in noise pollution and there are many nairaland threads about those incidents, so I'll encourage you to complain, because the system works.
Today, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) conducted a comprehensive enforcement operation aimed at curbing noise pollution and other environmental violations in the Surulere and Orile lganmu areas of Lagos State.
Despite repeated warnings and abatement notices issued in the past, numerous establishments, persisted in contravening LASEPA's directives. Consequently, these non-compliant establishments have been temporarily shut down to ensure strict compliance with environmental regulations.
Among the affected establishments include Red Pepper Bites Limited, Lacibo Restaurant & Lounge, Lakeem Suites, Krusty Butter Bakery & Pastries, Addie, Christian Ministry, and Don Nelson Resort & Suites.
The GM,Dr Ajayi underscored the imperative for businesses and religious centers to uphold environmental standards. He reiterated the agency's steadfast commitment to fostering a harmonious and sustainable environment for the residents of Lagos.
Dr. Ajayi reaffirmed LASEPA's dedication to rigorously enforcing environmental laws, with the goal of ensuring compliance and effectively addressing environmental violations across Lagos State.
A popular Catholic Priest of Onitsha Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Basil Gbuzue, has been kidnapped even as lawyers in Anambra State boycotted courts, yesterday, over the abduction of their colleague.
Fr. Gbuzue, popularly known as Man pass Man, a resident priest at Holy Trinity Parish, Ogidi, is the Spiritual Director of Mountain of Solution Catholic Adoration Ministry (MOSCAM), a prayer ministry attended by a multitude of worshippers every week in Anambra State.
Chancellor of Onitsha Archdiocese, Rev. Fr, Prudentius Aroh, who confirmed the kidnap incident in a letter dated May 16, 2024, and addressed to all priests, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese, disclosed that Fr. Gbuzue was kidnapped, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, along the Eke Nkpor-Obosi Bypass, at about 8am. He said the abductors were yet to establish contact with anybody.
“His Grace, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha, invites all Christ’s faithful and all men and women of goodwill to earnestly pray for the quick and safe release of the priest, as we intensify our efforts to ensure his freedom,” the statement noted.
Meanwhile, activities at the various courts in Anambra State were paralysed, yesterday, following a boycott of courts by lawyers, to press for the release of the Secretary, Idemili Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chukwubuikem .J. S. Asoro, who was kidnapped at Abagana, last Saturday.
A circular posted to all lawyers and different branches of the NBA, Anambra State, through their branch chairmen, signed by the Chairman, Committee of Chairmen and Secretaries, NBA branches, Anambra State, I. C. Nsofor, sighted by Daily Sun, ordered all lawyers to ensure strict compliance to the directive to boycott courts, yesterday.
When Daily Sun visited the Onitsha Magistrates’ and High Courts, yesterday, many litigants and others who had their cases slated for the day were disappointed as judges and magistrates presiding various courts in the premises didn’t show up for the business of the day. Many lawyers, who had several matters slated for the day, filed into the court to pick new dates even as others who expected judgements to be delivered on their cases left for home disappointed.
However, the police authorities in Anambra State said they have launched a manhunt for the abductors and possible rescue of Fr. Gbuzue. The Command’s Spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the command was already working with some witnesses to the incident in the ongoing operation.
He disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, addressed the Catholic priests during their meeting in Onitsha, allayed their fears and assured them that the command would do everything to rescue the priest unhurt, and arrest the abductors.
A popular Catholic priest in the Onitsha Diocese of Anambra State, Reverend Father Basil Gbuzuo, has been kidnapped by yet-to-be identified gunmen.
The news of the priest’s abduction was contained in a release by the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha dated May 16, 2024.
According to the statement, the incident occurred on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, around 8 am along the Eke Nkpor-Obosi bypass.
The statement also added that His Grace, Most Rev Valerian Okeke, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha, had called on all Christ’s faithful and people of goodwill to pray for the quick and safe release of the priest.
The Archdiocese said it was also intensifying efforts to secure Fr Gbuzuo’s freedom, while committing the priest to “powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, for his speedy release from the hands of his kidnappers.”
The statement signed by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Rev Fr Prudentius E. Aroh, read in part, “With sadness, we write to inform the general public of the kidnap of one of our priests, Rev. Fr. Basil Gbuzuo.
“The sad incident occurred yesterday morning, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, along Eke Nkpor-Obosi bypass, about 8am.
“He is a priest in residence at Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, Ogidi. Until now, the abductors have not established any contact with anyone.
“His Grace, Most Rev Valerian M. Okeke, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha, invites all Christ’s faithful and all men and women of goodwill to earnestly pray for the quick and safe release of the priest as we intensify our efforts to ensure his freedom.
“We commend our brother, Fr Basil, to the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, for his speedy release from the hands of his kidnappers.”
Reacting to the development in a statement Thursday evening, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, said the police had launched a manhunt for the abductors of the priest.
The PPRO’s statement read, “Anambra Police Command has launched a manhunt for the abductors and possible rescue of Fr Basil Chukwuemeka, which sad incident occurred at Nkpor Junction, Onitsha.
“The Command is already working with some eyewitnesses to the incident in the ongoing operation
“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, while addressing the Catholic priests, allayed their fears and assured them that the Command would do everything to rescue the priest unhurt and arrest the abductors.”
New Caledonia is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that the indigenous people are using TikTok to coordinate the riots.
Modified.
Summary
This is for those that can't read the article and those that might be misled by mischief makers.
New Caledonia is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, near Australia (and far away from Europe).
It is a possession of France, just as Britain owns St Helena which is not far from Nigeria (and is far away from Britain).
Voters register in New Caledonia has not been updated since 1998. This is because some of the indigenous Kanak people fear that new comers from Europe will dominate them (the population of New Caledonia is 300,000).
However, the French Government now wants to update the voters register and indigenous people are afraid that this will allow European new comers to vote and to dominate them. This is the reason for the riot.
It has nothing to do with religion (ignore the mischief makers). Most of the people of New Caledonia are either Christians or atheists.
France imposes state of emergency, bans TikTok in riot-hit New Caledonia
France deployed troops to New Caledonia's ports and international airport, banned TikTok and imposed a state of emergency Thursday after three nights of clashes that have left four dead and hundreds wounded.
The emergency measures give authorities greater powers to tackle the unrest that has gripped New Caledonia since Monday, when protests over voting changes pushed by Paris turned violent.
Additional powers under the state of emergency include the possibility of house detention for people deemed a threat to public order and the ability to conduct searches, seize weapons and restrict movements, with possible jail time for violators.
The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985, also in New Caledonia, the interior ministry said.
"No violence will be tolerated," said Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, adding that the state of emergency "will allow us to roll out massive means to restore order".
Attal told a crisis ministerial meeting that troops had been deployed to secure ports and the international airport and the government representative in New Caledonia has "banned TikTok".
The airport is already closed to international flights.
The state of emergency was announced hours after a French gendarme who was seriously injured during riots in New Caledonia died of his wounds, said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, raising the death toll to four.
The death of the French gendarme followed two nights of rioting as protesters demonstrated against a constitutional reform being debated in the national assembly in Paris that aims to expand the electorate in the territory's provincial elections.
Vehicles torched, shops looted
The unrest flared after French lawmakers approved a bill extending voting rights in provincial elections to residents arriving from mainland France – a change critics fear could marginalise Indigenous people and benefit pro-France politicians.
Following lengthy and at times tense debates, the National Assembly in Paris adopted the reform shortly after midnight, by 351 votes to 153.
Macron cancelled a planned visit to Normandy to chair cabinet-level national security talks on the crisis Wednesday morning, his office said.
Protests turned violent Monday night, with shots fired at security forces, vehicles torched and shops looted in the worst unrest the French overseas territory has seen since the 1980s.
In response, authorities deployed a heavy security contingent, imposed a curfew, banned public gatherings and closed the main airport.
French authorities in the territory said that more than 130 people have been arrested and more than 300 have been injured since Monday in the violence.
"More than 130 arrests have been made and several dozen rioters have been taken into custody and will be brought before the courts," the French High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia said in a statement early Wednesday morning.
Describing the "serious public disturbances" as ongoing, the High Commission decried widespread looting and torching of businesses and public property, including schools.
It added that classes will remain scrapped until further notice and the main airport shut to commercial flights.
Dispute over voting rights
Macron has been seeking to reassert his country's importance in the Pacific region, where China and the United States are vying for influence but France has a strategic footprint through its overseas territories, which include New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
Lying between Australia and Fiji, New Caledonia is one of several French territories spanning the globe from the Caribbean and Indian Ocean to the Pacific that remain part of France in the post-colonial era.
In the Noumea Accord of 1998, France vowed to gradually give more political power to the Pacific island territory of nearly 300,000 people.
Under the agreement, New Caledonia has held three referendums over its ties with France, all rejecting independence. But independence retains support, particularly among the Indigenous Kanak people.
The Noumea Accord has also meant that New Caledonia's voter lists have not been updated since 1998 – meaning that island residents who arrived from mainland France or elsewhere in the past 25 years do not have the right to take part in provincial polls.
The French government has branded the exclusion of one out of five people from voting as "absurd" while separatists fear that expanding voter lists would benefit pro-France politicians and reduce the weight of the Kanaks.
'Determination of our young'
Simmering protests over the planned changes to voter eligibility took a violent turn on Monday night, with groups of young masked or hooded demonstrators taking over several roundabouts and confronting police, who responded with non-lethal rounds.
One business group said around 30 shops, factories and other sites in and around the capital Noumea had been set ablaze, while an AFP journalist saw burned-out cars and the smoking remains of tyres and wooden pallets littering the streets.
Firefighters said they had received around 1,500 calls overnight and responded to 200 blazes.
Even after the curfew was put in place on Tuesday, there were acts of vandalism overnight, with the store of a major sports brand ransacked.
A prison rebellion involving some 50 detainees in the Camop-Est facility subsided after security forces regained control, local officials said.
Pro-independence party leader Daniel Goa asked the youths to "go home", and condemned the looting.
But he added: "The unrest of the last 24 hours reveals the determination of our young people to no longer let France take control of them."
The main figure of the non-independence camp, former minister Sonia Backes, denounced what she described as the anti-White racism of demonstrators who burned down the house of her father, a man in his 70s who was exfiltrated by the security forces.
"If he was not attacked because he was my father, he was at least attacked because he was White," she told BFMTV.
Politics › ‘Form Mining Companies, Apply For Licences’ - Alake Urges State Governors by naptu2(op): 12:28pm On May 17, 2024
Can you imagine that vibratingpenis thinks that I am going to read his nonsense?
