Economy
Cross River Imposes Statewide Ban on Illegal Mining, Intensifies Surveillance
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of Cross River State, Mr Bassey Otu, has imposed a statewide ban on illegal mining, directing all unlicensed operators to immediately shut down their activities.
The directive followed a strategic meeting with stakeholders in the mining industry, where the governor expressed concern over the growing security and environmental risks associated with unregulated mining operations.
Mr Otu said the ban takes immediate effect and applies to all operators without legitimate approvals from the Federal Government of Nigeria, while those with proper documentation will be allowed to continue their activities.
“This sector is strategic to the economic future of our state,” the governor said. “But instead of bringing prosperity to our communities, it is gradually becoming a source of serious concern. We believe wealth can still be created from mining, but it must be done ethically, legally and with full responsibility.”
He revealed that intelligence reports had shown an increasing influx of unregulated mining operators, including foreign nationals whose identities and operations remain largely unknown to the state authorities.
“I have been receiving reports about the influx of strangers and aliens into our various communities,” Otu said. “The truth is that we do not even know the number of these operators. We must know those who are in our state and what exactly they are doing in our environment.”
The governor also accused some local actors of aiding illegal mining activities.
“Some of the people complicating this situation are unfortunately within our own communities,” he said. “Some clan heads and village heads have become part of the problem by facilitating activities that are not properly regulated.”
Mr Otu revealed that the state government had initially attempted to address the problem through dialogue with federal authorities and security agencies responsible for monitoring mining operations, but noted that progress had been slow.
“I personally initiated discussions with federal authorities and security agencies to strengthen monitoring in the sector,” he said. “There were assurances that rangers would be deployed to assist us, but the process has taken far too long.”
He said the state could no longer wait, adding that the government had now decided to act decisively.
“We have given enough time of grace,” the governor declared. “There comes a point where government must act decisively. That time has now come.”
Announcing the directive, he said all illegal mining activities must stop immediately across the state.
“I am imposing a total ban on illegal mining in this state,” he said. “Let everyone return to their locations. When you are ready to come back, you must first report to the ministry and be properly profiled before any activity resumes.”
Mr Otu stressed that only operators with verifiable federal approvals and proper documentation would be allowed to continue operating.
“Those who have legitimate approvals from the federal government and whose activities are already known to the ministry will not be affected,” he said. “But anybody entering our communities to mine without proper authorisation should understand that those days are over.”
He warned that unregulated mining had begun to threaten public safety and agricultural livelihoods in many communities.
“This situation is affecting our security,” he said. “It is affecting our farmers and creating too many problems for our communities. Cross River is a hospitable state, but there is a limit to what we can continue to manage.”
To enforce the directive, the governor ordered the State Security Adviser to coordinate immediate enforcement operations and directed the Anti-Illegal Mining Task Force to commence round-the-clock surveillance in mining areas.
“There must be 24-hour monitoring to ensure that nobody goes behind the government to continue these activities illegally,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
