Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has emphasised the government’s commitment to deepening stakeholder consultations in the fight against illegal mining, also known as “galamsey.”
Speaking about the ministry’s strategy on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Muhammed underscored the importance of involving various stakeholders to effectively combat the issue.
“What we are doing at the Ministry of Environment is that we are deepening the stakeholder engagements because you cannot fight it without engaging everybody. You need to engage the chiefs or traditional leaders, and that is why you need MMDCEs and also the Ministry of Local Government, which is the mother Ministry, to be playing a role,” Muhammed stated.
He highlighted the need to collaborate with the Ministry of Defence due to the security implications associated with illegal mining.
“We are engaging the Ministry of Defence because you know the security implication. Some of the people who are engaged in it are heavily armed, and you need some force,” he explained.
The Ministry of Interior is also involved in the consultations, given the domestic security concerns related to galamsey activities.
“Interior (Ministry) they border on domestic security, that is why the Ministry of Interior is also involved,” Murtala Muhammed added.
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