By Toba Adedeji, Osogbo
The Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, has urged monarchs interested in mining to get a licence instead of engaging in illegal mining.
According to the monarch, mining was on the exclusive list of the Federal Government, just as oil exploration, ‘hence, instead of getting involved in illegal mining, any traditional ruler or individual with interest in mining should get a licence from the appropriate authority,’ he said.
At a news conference by the Ijesa Mineral Resources Development Forum (IMRDF), at his palace in Ilesa, the monarch said Ijesaland had for long been a beehive of mining. He wondered if the community needed any form of lobbying to get such organisation domicilled in the area.
He said: “I urge monarchs who engage in illegal mining to stop. Before you can mine gold, you have to get a licence from the Federal Government because it is on the exclusive list. It belongs to the Federal Government; no state has a right to do anything. It is only the Federal Government that can mine anything and we have agreed on that. This doesn’t mean the land doesn’t belong to us. So, anybody who wants to mine should register.
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“The Federal Ministry of Mines and Power has been mining gold within Ijesha land with nothing to show for it, and it should even be more beneficial to Ijesaland because our gold is 98 per cent pure. It is purer than that of South Africa. So, citing a gold processing company here should be by merit.”
Forum Chairman Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi said the forum would ensure harmonious relationship between miners and residents.
According to him, host communities should benefit from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the only large scale miner in the area in terms of job creation and protection.
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