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Senate Passes Motions on Illegal Mining, Flood Disaster, Destruction of Marine Life & Kidnapping

Senate Passes Motions on Illegal Mining, Flood Disaster, Destruction of Marine Life & Kidnapping
The Senate on Thursday, November 19, 2015 deliberated upon four Motions and passed them as Resolutions. The passage of the Motions was sequel to intensive debate of each of them by distinguished Senators on the floor of the Chamber. The Motions passed include:
Illegal Mining of the Nation’s Solid Minerals, sponsored by Sen. Duro Faseyi (Ekiti North), who led the debate and was seconded by Sen. Sam Anyanwu (Imo East). Sen. Faseyi noted with serious concern the unlawful plundering of the nation’s solid minerals by local and foreign miners which was further confirmed by the former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development while briefing Mr. President on the state of the Ministry. He disclosed that illegal mining has resulted in the loss of N8 trillion every two years, thus impacting adversely on the nation’s deteriorating economy. The Motion having enjoyed the support of distinguished Senators was passed with four prayers that include:

1) Condemn in strong terms the mindless and unlawful plundering of our solid minerals.
2) Mandate the Committee on Solid Minerals to look into the matter with a view to finding lasting solution to the problem.
3) Direct the law enforcement agencies especially the Inspector General of Police to be alive to the responsibility of bringing the illegal miners to book as urgently as possible.
4) Urge the executive both at Federal, State and Local Government levels to take concrete steps towards ending illegal mining.
The second Motion passed titled “Construction of Dams to remedy the perennial flood disasters in Nigeria”, was sponsored by Sen. Stella Oduah. Debate on the Motion was seconded by Sen. Binta Masi Garba. Sen. Oduah noted the recurring annual floods in Nigeria especially arising from the release of water in Lagdo Dam in Cameroun which has caused unavoidable loss of lives and properties in many communities along the River Niger – Benue trough. The Motion scaled through with three prayers stated below:
1) Urge the Federal Government to convene a stakeholders meeting to x-ray the recurring situation with a view to proffering a lasting solution to flood disaster.
2) Urge the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to revisit the proposed construction of Dasin Hausa Dam and any other Dams as the case may be to take in the flood water from Lagdo Dam in Cameroun and control other Dams that may affect lives.
3) Commend NEMA, PCFR and other relevant Agencies, Organizations and individuals whose efforts in creating awareness has led to reduction in casualty.

Similarly, the third Motion passed was on the “Destruction of Marine Life by the effluent from Notore Chemical Company and Port Harcourt Refineries Company into Ekerekana River and environment”, sponsored by Sen. George Thompson Sekibo (Rivers East) and two others. Debate on the Motion was seconded by Sen.  Nneji Achonu Athanasius (Imo North). The Motion sailed through with five prayers that include:

1) Direct the operators of Notore Chemical Company and Port Harcourt Refineries Company to treat their dischargeable chemicals components of effluents from their production processes to the internationally acceptable standards before they are discharged into the River.
2) Urge the National Environmental Standard Regulatory Agency (NESRA) to carry out holistic appraisal of the effluents that are being discharged into water bodies by these chemical industries operating in order to forestall such occurrence in future.
3) Urge NESRA to enforce compliance of their approved minimum chemical components dischargeable into water by chemical processing companies in the country. 

While the fourth Motion passed by the Senate was on “The unfortunate recurrence of kidnapping and hostage taking in Nigeria – a national wake-up call, sponsored by Sen. Andy Uba (Anambra South). Debate on the Motion was seconded by Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Kebbi South). Sen. Uba noted with displeasure the seeming prevalence of crime of kidnapping in Nigeria. He added that it has assumed dangerous dimension and like a cancer, its spread seems to be permeating all states in Nigeria. Accordingly, the Motion was passed with four resolutions stated below:

1) Condemn kidnapping in its entirety and commiserate with the family of those who have lost their loved ones to the perpetrators of this vice.
2) Urge traditional institutions, religious authorities and indeed all Nigerians to be more vigilant and participate more actively in the security of Nigeria
3) Urge the Senate to make frantic efforts at reviewing the extant laws on kidnapping with a view to imposing stiffer penalties on the crime.
4) Commend the Police, State Security Service and other security agencies for their efforts so far and invite the Inspector General of Police to brief the Senate through the relevant Committees on activities targeted at the resolution of this security challenge.  

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