SHORTLY after her swearing-in ceremony by the 10th Senate, Chief Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator representing Kogi Central, urged the Red Chamber on Thursday to consider policies that would help protect host communities against environmental degradation.
Natasha was reacting to the motion sponsored by Senator Osita Ngwu representing Enugu West.
Senator Osita sponsored a motion to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the dwindling revenue desirable from solid mineral development in the country.
He urged the senate to ascertain the extent and impact of illegal mining activities and the extent of complicity of both local and expatriate industry players, amongst others.
While contributing to the motion, Senator Natasha called on the Senate to consider policies to curb environmental degradation, host communities involvement, and an advanced seismic report.
“I would like to draw our attention to a critical situation that has been ignored, primarily environmental degradation.
“If we close our eyes and turn deaf ears to the cry of our communities, whereby we are only interested in extracting these resources (minerals), we would ignore the fact that some of these resources have hazardous effects on our environment and could cause pollution, thereby endangering the lives of our people, especially children. If we ignore this, we might probably, in the near future, have the same problem we are currently facing in the Niger Delta region, where the waters and lands are polluted.
“So, inasmuch as I do appreciate the points raised (referring to Senator Osita) which of course we hope to develop into policies and, in turn, generate revenue for the country, we should expand it to include policies that will protect our environment,” she opined.
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan reminded the Senate that the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO’s) host communities in Okehi LGA have not been compensated for the project’s land since the 70s.
She further advised the need for an advanced seismic survey for robust mineral exploration, adding that the natural resources list Nigeria has is outdated.
