By Paul Effiong, Abuja
House of Representatives Committee on Solid Mineral has called for the suspension of Arab Contractors mining license until they get a suitable site.
Chairman of the committee, Jonathan Gbefwi stated this yesterday during an investigative hearing on mining companies operating in Nigeria and their community development agreements.
Speaking during the event, the chairman expressed worry that the blasting site of Arab Contractors is very close to residential areas which contravenes the Mining Act in Nigeria.
The committee also ruled that the operations of HOMASET Company be suspended for two weeks until they provide relevant agreement document between the company, host community and the federal government.
The committee warned that if the company fails to provide these documents, their operational licence will be withdrawn by the Ministry of Solid Mineral because they are currently operating illegally in Nigeria.
Its representative, however, pleaded with the committee to give them more days to provide the relevant documents.
Director of Mines and Environmental Compliance, Vivian Okono, while speaking at the hearing, said most of the companies are not complying with the community development agreement and even when invited to a meeting to explain the reasons, they always refuse to honour invitations.
Earlier, the committee had revealed that its investigative hearing is nationwide, stressing readiness to start from the Federal Capital Territory.
During the hearing, the chairman also expressed disappointment over the illegalities perpetrated by some companies across the country.
