Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday, accused states and host communities of imposing illegal taxes on mining companies in the country.
Osinbajo, who spoke at the maiden edition of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development’s strategic engagement on sustainable mining with state governors and other critical stakeholders in Abuja, said the governors have usurped the power of the Federal Government on the regulation of mining activities in Nigeria.
He said it would take collaborative efforts by the federal government, state governors, and host communities to revive the country’s mining sector.
“This puts legal operators in the sector in a state of dilemma over which of the laws to comply with and has led to huge revenue loss. State governments noted for this include Anambra, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa and Ogun.
“Others are copying very fast. Issues such as Illegal introduction and enforcement of outrageous fees, taxes, and levies on licenced mining companies and operators (both foreign and local), oppression, suppression, continuous arrest and harassment of licensed miners and their workers (both foreign and local) have become manifest in many parts of the country due to lack of synergy amongst the tiers of government.”
