Dare Babalola
Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has declared that the fight against illegal mining by the Federal Government will not be stopped by blackmail or media attacks.
Alake, who spoke at a recent forum noted that the mining industry is being confronted by external threats fuelled by individuals benefiting from illegal operations.
He commended the operations of the newly launched mine marshals, stressing that those against them are people benefiting from illegal mining.
His words, “The challenges that I’ve seen, in a nutshell, are not administrative at all, they are external.
“First, on the security, the efforts that we’ve made so far in curbing or stemming the tide of insecurity and illegal mining operations are facing serious pushback from those who are benefiting from the nefarious activities.”
He dismissed allegations of bribery against the mine marshals, saying the operators have failed to provide evidence to back their claims.
He said, “In fact, some came to say that the leader of the mine marshals is asking them for bribe and that they’ve paid him bribe.
“I said, ‘wow, this is what I’ve been looking for. Please give me the evidence.’
“One of them said he was coming back the following day with the evidence. That was six months ago. I’m yet to see him.”
Alake said the ministry remains firm in its commitment to reforms and is drawing strength from President Bola Tinubu’s stance on accountability.
He declared, “Our hands are on the plough and there’s no looking back. I am not going to remove anybody from the mine marshals except I see concrete evidence of malfeasance or misdemeanor.
“But I am one person that never buckles under any blackmail. No inducement can sway me at all. So we are confronting that challenge as well.”
