Posted by On Thursday, the Kogi State House of Assembly announced that it has taken measures to eradicate illicit mining throughout the state and settle outstanding land issues within local communities.
While answering questions from an Assembly correspondent in Lokoja, House Committee on Land, Housing, Environment, and Natural Resources Chairman Abu Onoruoiza Jibril made the announcement.
Current legislator for the Ajaokuta State seat Jibril made it clear that the Assembly will no longer tolerate any kind of shady dealings in Kogi State’s real estate, construction, or mining industries.
You may recall that the new members of the Committee on Land, Housing, Environment, and Natural Resources were introduced by the Speaker of the House during plenary session on Thursday, August 37, 2023.
When functioning properly, the Committee system serves as the legislative institution’s functional machinery to demonstrate separation of powers by monitoring the activities of the executive, judicial, and judicial branches on behalf of the people and by gathering information necessary to facilitate the building of reorganizing the statutory fabric of the State.
“This Committee is composed of members who are well abreast with the challenges of Land, Housing, Environment, and Natural Resources in the State, therefore the Committee shall play its prominent role of properly reviewing, scrutinizing, monitoring, and supervising the programs of the Ministry and its agencies.”
Land is fragile at the moment. We are fully aware of the damage done to the city of Lokoja as a result. We’ve probably all heard the stereotype that some individuals only sell a piece of property if it’s going to be used by more than a couple of families. Hopefully, we can put that in the past. The Assembly is a branch of government, and as such, we plan to coordinate our efforts with the Executive to bring about the desired results.
The Kogi senator assured his constituents that the state’s natural riches would be safeguarded from the illicit exploitation of foreign powers.
Jibril continued, “All this relentless exploration that is going on, mining, and blasting in locations that do not go by environmental rules will be halted. There are several mining-related problems in the Ajaokuta area, where I was born and raised.
They will be inspected by us. When it comes to housing, we need to free up more land so that more people, including government workers, may have their own homes. Members of government should have pleasure in their positions. Everyone needs to come aboard”
Earlier, in his remarks, Speaker of the House Aliyu Umar had urged government departments, ministries, and parastatals to be more aggressive in carrying out their mandates.