The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has dismissed allegations by the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Mineral Exploration, Security, and Anti-Money Laundering that it has failed to cooperate with an ongoing probe into illegal mining across the country.
Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Vivian Okono, in a statement on Thursday, said the claims made by the committee’s chairperson, Sanni Abdulraheem, were inaccurate and did not reflect the Ministry’s actual engagement with the legislature.
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Mr Abdulraheem, on Wednesday, summoned the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, and the Director-General of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), alleging that both institutions had shown reluctance to engage constructively with the committee despite being central to the reforms and regulatory processes required to curb illegal mining.
He also said the committee’s initial friendly and collaborative approach had not been reciprocated by the ministry and the MCO, expressing concern that the agencies’ perceived lack of cooperation was hampering the ongoing investigation.
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However, Mrs Okono refuted the allegations, stating that the committee’s narrative was misleading. She explained that the Ministry had, at all times, acted in good faith and maintained open lines of communication with the committee.
According to her, the ministry’s delegation had been prepared to honour the invitation to appear before the committee on Tuesday, 18 November, as stated in the original letter of invitation. But the Ministry later received conflicting updates from the committee’s secretariat.
Ms Okono said that in an effort to demonstrate the ministry’s respect for the House of Representatives, she personally contacted the committee’s Clerk, Ademola Adewale, on Monday, 17 November, to reconfirm the sitting time. She said she was informed that the hearing had been shifted from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the following day.
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READ ALSO: Illegal Mining Probe: Reps committee summons Alake, others over lack of cooperation
Later that same day, she said the ministry again reached out to the clerk, only to be told that the committee had decided to postpone the Ministry’s appearance indefinitely.
“In view of these circumstances, the alleged summon issued by the ad-hoc committee was unnecessary,” she said.
The acting permanent secretary reaffirmed that the ministry maintains excellent and cordial relations with the House of Representatives and its committees, emphasising that the executive and legislative arms share a collective responsibility to act in the best interest of Nigerians.
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