Illegal Mining Must Be Tackled In Nigeria – ECOWAS

The Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States Parliament, Mohamed Tunis has come out to reveal that Nigeria loses 91 per cent of its revenue from the mining sector to illegal miners.

He recently had his say while speaking at the opening of a three-day seminar organized by the Parliament on “Illegal mining and its implications in the ECOWAS Region”, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, a staggering 80 per cent of mining in the country’s northwest region is conducted illegally, costing the nation 91 per cent of potential mining revenue.

Tunis then urged ECOWAS member states to adopt concrete measures to tackle illegal mining, stressing the need for proper regulation and sustainable solutions.

His words, “The mining sector has the potential to contribute 7.5 per cent to Ghana’s GDP, 10.2 per cent to the GDP of Burkina Faso, 4 per cent to the GDP of Cote d’Ivoire while Nigeria receives only 9% from the sector with 80 per cent of the mining in the country’s North West region carried out illegally.”

WOW.