The Oyo state government has warned illegal miners operating without official permission to desist or be ready to face the full wrath of the law, according to the Chairman, Oyo State Minerals Development Agency, Mr Abiodun Oni.
The state government also extended stern warnings to operators, within the state, who fail to comply with extant rules and regulations guiding the mining industry.
Oni, who disclosed this on Thursday at the state secretariat, in Ibadan, similarly warned revenue defaulters to desist from these acts or suffer the same fate.
“The government is on the trail of illegal miners. The state government is ready to partner with relevant stakeholders in the mining industry, so as to increase the State Resource Control and Economy Development.
“Prior to this time, the agency has been having meaningful discussions with some relevant stakeholders on ways to strategise and develop the budding industry in the state,’’ he said.
He revealed that the state was endowed with different kinds of solid minerals such as: Granites, Gold, Gemstone, Quarts, Cassiterite, Marble, Garnet, Tin-Ore, Monganite, Naobium, Agate, Topnz, Limestone, Tantalum among others.
Oyo, usually referred to as Oyo State to distinguish it from the city of Oyo, is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa.
