The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has declared that the Federal Government will not bow to blackmail or media attacks in its effort to curb illegal mining and insecurity in the sector.
Speaking at a recent forum, Alake said the biggest challenges confronting the mining industry are not administrative but external, driven by individuals benefiting from illegal operations.
He said those opposed to the government’s reforms have resorted to smear campaigns and blackmail against the newly launched mine marshals who are recording significant progress.
His words: “The challenges that I’ve seen, in a nutshell, are not administrative at all, they are external.
“First, on the security, the efforts that we’ve made so far in curbing or stemming the tide of insecurity and illegal mining operations is facing serious pushback from those who are benefiting from the nefarious activities.”
Alake said some operators have tried to discredit the mine marshals by accusing them of bribery, but none has provided any evidence.
He said: “In fact, some came to say that the leader of the mine marshals is asking them for bribe and that they’ve paid him bribe.
“I said, ‘wow, this is what I’ve been looking for. Please give me the evidence.’
“One of them said he was coming back the following day with the evidence. That was six months ago. I’m yet to see him.”
He said the smear campaign has extended to the media, with one television station forced to apologise after publishing false claims against the leader of the marshals.
“At some point, the man came to me to say one medium blackmailed him.
“I said, ‘well, did you do it?’ He said, no, he didn’t do it. I said, okay, get a lawyer to sue that medium. And he did.
“Forty-eight hours later, that same medium, a TV station, put up a public apology because they were paid to do the hatchet job.
“And because, of course, like every profession in this degeneration, also in journalism, there’s no balancing of reportage,” he revealed.
Alake said the ministry remains firm in its commitment to reforms and is drawing strength from President Bola Tinubu’s stance on accountability.
He declared: “Our hands are on the plough and there’s no looking back.
I am not going to remove anybody from the mine marshals except I see concrete evidence of malfeasance or misdemeanor.
“But I am one person that never buckles under any blackmail. No inducement can sway me at all. So we are confronting that challenge as well.”
