FEC To NSA: Build Secure Storage For Explosives
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday urged the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, to cordinate the erection of safe storage facilities for explosives to prevent the type of explosion that happened recently in Lebanon.
The FEC meeting, which was presided by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, also directed the NSA to curb around mining areas across the country, especially in the northwest.
These were among the approvals in a memorandum presented to the FEC by Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this to state house correspondents after the 11th virtual FEC meeting in Abuja.
Mohammed said the FEC approved the request that the NSA should set up secure storage facilities for explosives, saying the need for these became imperative, following the disaster that recently tore through Beirut, the Lebanese capital, where scores of residents were killed, thousands rendered homeless and wreckage in billions of dollars left behind.
“The Minister of Mines and Steel Development presented a memo today (Wednesday), which largely was to ask for the Council’s approval in addressing the major challenges the mining industry is facing. These include insecurity in certain parts of the country, notably the northwest where mining activities have been suspended due to the activities of bandits and kidnappers.
“The industry is also face with the problem of collusion between some major stakeholders, sometimes traditional rulers. The minister also said the problem of double taxation is actually driving a lot of investors out of the country.
“He explained that certain decision of past governments, especially in the area of storage of explosives used for mining, where, before now, the position was that any miner that wants to use explosives for mining must store same either military or police baracks. So he requested that special facilities be built for the storage of such explosives.
“The minister got the approval of council that NSA should cordinate the issue of insecurity and illegal mining; the NSA should also cordinate the erection of safe storage facilities for explosives also known as magazines, so that we don’t have the kind of incident that happened in Lebanon.”
