Niger Govt Threatens Dismissal Of Mining Officials Over Illegal Collections

The Niger Ministry of Mineral Resources has taken firm steps to address allegations of illegal revenue collection and improve coordination among its local government (LG) coordinators.

The move was announced at a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Idris Legbo, at the office of the Commissioner for Mineral Resources in Minna on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Legbo said that the ministry received reports that some coordinators were allegedly extorting artisanal miners and collecting money in the ministry’s name without authorisation.

He warned that the ministry would not tolerate any act capable of damaging its image or frustrating efforts to reposition the mining sector for economic growth.
He added that any coordinator found engaging in illegal revenue collection would face immediate dismissal.

The permanent secretary also directed all coordinators to return their appointment letters and identity cards for correction and amendment.

He explained that the coordinators were mistakenly identified as ministry staff on their identity cards, whereas they only serve as Local Government Coordinators and not permanent personnel of the ministry.

“The coordinators were not appointed as revenue officers and therefore have no authority to collect money from miners or operators in their respective local government areas.

“Their primary responsibility is to monitor mining activities and report developments to the ministry for necessary action,” Legbo said.
He assured them that the ministry would investigate the issues the LG coordinators raised and hold discussions with the consultants.

“The ministry will visit various local government areas to assess the situation firsthand.
“The ministry is commitment to transparency, accountability and proper regulation of mining activities in line with the New Niger Agenda of Gov. Umaru Bago
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the coordinators had raised concerns over poor communication and lack of cooperation between them and the ministry’s consultants.

They appealed to the ministry to intervene and encourage better collaboration among stakeholders to strengthen monitoring and improve revenue generation