SAN FRANCISCO, August 05, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has ordered the immediate recall of all Federal Mines officers in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
The Minister gave the directive on Friday in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, saying that the development became necessary as part of measures to strengthen the institutional capacity of the ministry to cooperate with the security agencies in ensuring the security of lives and property in the country, as well as safety of the environment.
The development came barely 24 hours after the ministry blacklisted and withdrew the explosives licences of the Nigerian Development and Construction Company (NDCC), a Koko, Delta State based company, for the illegal diversion of explosives.
Accordingly, all the affected officers are to report to the headquarters of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Abuja for further directives on their next assignments.
Letters to this effect have been dispatched to the state and zonal offices of the ministry nationwide.
Fayemi said the ministry will not leave any stone unturned in the bid to reposition the sector for effective service delivery, and to actualise the economic diversification and job creation goals of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
“In the pursuit of our mandate to deepen the productivity of the mining industry, we will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to guarantee that the security of lives and property, as well as safety of the environment is not compromised,” he said.
THEWILL recalls that Fayemi, less than 24 hours ago, ordered the sealing off of the company’s premises and withdrawal of its explosive distribution licenses.
The action by the government followed the outcome of investigations by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), which revealed that the company was involved in illegal diversion of about 9,000 kilogramme of Nitro-glycerine explosives and 16,420 pieces of electrical detonators from its magazines between 2015 and 2016.
