By Emegwoako C. Paschal
The Kwara government has praised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its efforts in halting the activities of illegal miners and the state’s failure to pay royalties to the federal government.
This was contained in a statement signed by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.
The Kwara Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Harriet Afolabi-Oshatimehin, was said to have made this known during a solidarity visit to the EFCC’s Ilorin Zonal Command.
She stated that Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was pleased with the EFCC’s work, emphasizing that the state’s solid mineral deposits, if properly harnessed, would sustain individual, state, and national economies.
Afolabi-Oshatimehin expressed concern about the state government’s massive loss of resources to illegal miners and those who do not pay due royalties.
The EFCC, according to the commissioner, is Nigeria’s premier anti-graft agency, and its intervention in the mining sector came at the right time.
According to the statement, the EFCC Zonal Commander, Michael Nzekwe, responded that the commission was fulfilling its mandate as specified by the EFCC Act, 2004, and thus had enforcement powers.
Nzekwe stated that improved collaboration between the ministry and other stakeholders is critical to sanitizing the state’s mining sector.
He urged every Nigerian to reject corruption and support the commission’s anti-graft crusade, and warned against any form of economic sabotage, adding that the EFCC would not tolerate such acts.
