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ABUJA- THE Miners Association of Nigeria, MAN, Thursday, declared that the mining company allegedly behind the explosion in Ibadan on Tuesday night is not their member.
Speaking with our correspondent, the National President, MAN, ‘Dele Ayanleke, said the mining company referred to as the organisation that illegally and allegedly stored the explosives that caused the blast, which claimed lives and destroyed property is not in their list of members based on the documents seen.
The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, pointed out that the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, certificate of a mining company indicted for the explosion showed some foreign names as owners.
He said: “The Company Governor Seyi Mkinde is referring to as allegedly a stored explosive in a building is not a registered member of the Miners Association of Nigeria.
“We do not have that company in our register and we do not know them. There are a lot of mining companies operating in the sector who are not registered members of our Association.”
However, he said “the documents traceable to this company should be known by the Solid Minerals Ministry because they were given mining leases officially to operate, so I think the Ministry should have their records.”
Earlier, speaking with Vanguard on Wednesday, the miners’ boss in a chat with our correspondent, said the Association is also concerned with the way explosives were stored in a residential area of Ibadan.
However, Ayanleke, maintained that the mining industry is handled professionally with regulations and procedures as far as safety issues are concerned.
“We first and foremost, reflect on the collateral damages of this incident, commiserate with the victims and pray for the repose of the souls of the dead”, he said.
He further stated that, “We are in a knowledge industry with rules, regulations and procedures for handling every aspect of our operations.
“How do we describe a driver with a valid driving licence and driving against traffic rules?
“Should a legal miner handle explosives carelessly to the point of storing them in buildings, instead of the dedicated magazines in the quarry or mining site?”
He also called on miners to exercise restraint and patience while they await the outcome of the ongoing investigations on the explosion.
Meanwhile, , the Board of Trustees, BoT, and the National Executive Council, NEC, Miners Association of Nigeria, MAN, Thursday, vowed to unravel perpetrators behind the Tuesday night explosion that rocked parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Miners vow to unravel perpetrators
BoT and NEC made their resolve known in a statement signed by the National President, MAN, ‘Dele Ayanleke, and the National Publicity Secretary, MAN, Engr Fatai Jimoh respectively while expressing their condolences to the affected people by the blast, and also expressing deep appreciation to the Governor of Oyo State, Engr Oluseyi Makinde, for his prompt response to the emergency situation by facilitating immediate succour to the victims acknowledged that the explosion was occasioned by illegally stockpiling of explosives in a residential property.
The statement reads in part: “On our part, we hereby pledge our support to all initiatives aimed at unraveling the perpetrators of this crime, with the view to bringing them to book in order to serve as deterrents to other criminal elements among us, who paint operators in the Solid Minerals Sector in bad light.
“By this publication, we further affirm our commitments to the continued collaboration with all tiers of government, their agencies and all stakeholders to end all forms of illegality in the Solid Minerals value-chain, in order to bequeath to the present and future generations of our nation, a sector that can provide the much desired pivot for the diversification and broadening of our national economy.”
However, the association warned members to be careful with some people who do not mean well for the industry.
“We also call on all our members, across our various chapters, to be wary of those they partner with, and to expose all shady characters, parading themselves as operators in the sector, to the appropriate authorities in order to save the sector from every form of illegality and criminality”, it added.
VANGAURD
19th January 2024
C.E
Tags: CAC Corporate Affairs Commission Dele Ayanleke Gov. Seyi Makinde MAN Miners Association of Nigeria
