By Richard Akintade, Osogbo.
Osun State government has warned mineral resources explorers who fall short of environmental standards in the state to henceforth comply with the government’s regulations or face legal action.
He said the decision was part of efforts towards sanitising the state’s natural resources sector,
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola made this known on Wednesday while inaugurating the Osun Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee in the State.
Oyetola who bemoaned the negative impacts of the activities of some players in the sector, charged the committee to work towards reversing the emerging effects of pollution and environmental degradation.
“Most recently, the Osun river has been polluted with heavy metals and other contaminants thereby threatening our investments in the water sector. Our land is also littered with an array of abandoned mining sites that require decommissioning and reclamation.
“I hereby call on this Committee to rise to the occasion. The time to rein in the defaulters and ensure this ugly trend is reversed is now,” Oyetola stated.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Prince Abdullah Adeyanju Binuyo, lauded Governor Oyetola for his commitment to the regulation of the mining sector and enforcement necessary for commercialisation of the sector.
“The effect of the Governor’s intervention is culminating in the ease of social tension in the state as a result of the influx of a lot of miners from different parts of the country. It is also helping to improve and enforce compliance in the environmental sector of the State,” Binuyo stated.
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