Gov Lawal bans mining in Zamfara, pledges support for onslaught against Bello Turji

Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has signed an Executive Order banning all forms of mining activities in the state.

According to him, the order will be in force until necessary arrangements are made between the federal and state governments on how to benefit from mining activities.

The governor said that he doesn’t have comprehensive list of miners in the state, adding that he does not know how much the Federal Government is earning from mining in Zamfara State.

Lawal stressed that there is a high level of connection between banditry and artisanal mining in Zamfara, noting that his administration will collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that the most wanted bandits’ leader, Bello Turji, is killed.

The governor disclosed this on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

According to him, there was a time he asked the minister of mines to tell him how much the Federal Government is earning from mining in Zamfara State, but he could not answer him.

“If the minister had answered me I would have demanded for the share of the state government from the Federal Government,” he added.

The governor said that there should be a synergy between the federal and state governments in the area of mining since mining is in the exclusive but the land belongs to the state.

Speaking further, he said that his administration will collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that Turji is killed, so as to reduce the level of banditry in the North-West.

“If the ongoing military onslaught against bandits continue unabated, within two weeks to one month, banditry will be a thing of the past,” he observed.