By Ahuoiza Zubair Memunat.
The Chairman, State Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee Kogi Chapter, Hajiya Hassiat Ozavize Suleiman has expressed gratitude to the state government for its immense support of her committee over the years.
The remarks were made on Tuesday at the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee Chairmen Annual General Meeting which held at Rockview Hotel, Abuja.
The meeting which was organised by the Mines Environmental Compliance Department of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development was attended by the Honorable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Directors and Deputy directors of relevant departments, as well as 28 of the State MIREMCO Chairmen.
The confab served as the first official meeting between the State and Federal stakeholders of the Solid Minerals Sector of the year, and highlighted expectations of each chapter for the ensuing year with focus on revenue generation and arbitration between title holders and their host communities.
It was also announced that at the annual evaluation of performance rating of MIREMCO states, Kogi retained top position, coming in at third place while Kaduna and Osun states held the first and second positions respectively.
Speaking at the gathering, Hajiya Suleiman intimated her colleagues of the milestones the committee has achieved since its inauguration, including successful statewide sensitization exercise as well as mediation and conflict resolution. She also highlighted the challenges the committee has faced in areas of funding from the ministry, and the activities of illegal miners in the state.
More so, the MIREMCO Chairman laid special emphasis on the immense material support of the government of Governor Yahaya Bello since inception and stated that it is this support which has greatly truncated the aforementioned challenges.
MIREMCO serves as a synergy between the Federal and State Governments on all matters affecting solid minerals and mining activities in all states of the federation.
