Communities in Enugu criticize mining operations for posing health and environmental risks.
Enugu State mining communities have voiced worries about the frequent violations of their environmental safety and the coal miners’ disrespect for their health while working in their locations.
Communities in Enugu criticize mining operations for posing health and environmental risks.
The communities beseeched the Enugu State government to step in and ensure that the mining consent obtained by companies engaged in mining conformed with global best practices, protecting them from health hazards and pollution, while also lamenting that their sources of drinking water and livelihoods had been contaminated by mining activities.
At a briefing in Enugu yesterday, the communities made an appeal through their presidents-general and traditional rulers, emphasizing that the decision to withdraw all consent was a result of some of the companies failing to live up to expectations and destroying their farmlands and vegetation through environmental degradation.
A “brazen disregard for the environmental safety of our people whose sources of water and farming have been polluted from the source” was another charge leveled against mining firms.
After much discussion, we have all decided that we should reassess the mining consent that our towns’ mining businesses have received, as some of them have not performed up to par.
A few of them had a lot of illegality involved. This is also done with blatant disdain for the environmental safety of our people, whose water and farmland supplies have been contaminated from the start, according to a portion of the statement.
The traditional head of the Nsude autonomous community in Udi local government, Igwe George Ejikeme Onoh, urged people and organizations interested in mining to get in touch with the government through the State Government Secretary to confirm that they have the consent of communities that adhere to professional, ethical, and environmental standards that ensure the safety of their host communities.
We would like to use this opportunity to invite all individuals or groups interested in the mining industry to get in touch with the State Government as soon as possible through the Secretary to the State Government. This will allow us to confirm that the organizations have obtained the required community consent to operate and that they are adhering to professional, ethical, and environmental standards that ensure the safety of their host communities, subject to federal government cadastre certificates.
The “decision takes immediate effect upon this information,” it said.
Igwe John E. Ugwu of the Ezimo autonomous community, Mbah Cyril Eze, the president-general of the Ezimo town union in Udenu LGA, Engr. Chibuzor Ngene, the president-general of the Akwuke town union, the Enugu South council area, Obiesie Walter Onyeka, the president-general of the Awha Imezi, the Ezeagu council area, Eze Chinedu, the president-general of Nsude, Igwe Ozor Paulinus, the traditional ruler of the Awha Imezi autonomous community, the Ezeagu local government area, and a number of other people are among those who signed the statement.
