Turkish and Chinese companies, Zeberced Limited and Venus Mining Company, continue to quarry stones in Dutse and Kubwa communities in Abuja but fail to pay their dues to the communities from where they rake in billions of naira.
Zeberced Limited which takes pride in being the largest quarrying operation in West Africa was established in Nigeria on July 23, 2007, with registration number 699920, but Turkish businessmen hold 100% of the company.
According to a report on the Solid Minerals Industry by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the company produced approximately 1.5 million metric tonnes of granite in 2020 and paid a royalty of N106,812,159.75 to the Federal Government.
Since 2007 to date, the firm has produced about 48,674,322.81 metric tonnes at various sites in Abuja.
Despite its abundant yield, Zeberced Limited is yet to fulfil its legal obligation to give back to the host community, though it signed a Community Development Agreement (CDA) in compliance with the federal government’s directive. A document titled “Approved List of Active Pre-January 2021 Community Development Agreements” from NEITI shows that it signed the agreement in 2021.
Mining companies are required to obtain a CDA before beginning operation, and the purpose is to guarantee that mining firms do not destroy the communities where they operate.
The NEITI report on Nigeria’s earnings from solid minerals in 2021, which was signed on September 15, 2023, by Obiageli Onuorah, the Deputy Director and Head of Communications & Stakeholder Management, shows that only 67 out of the 121 companies evaluated for Environmental Expenditure and Community Development Agreements (CDAs) had successfully implemented CDAs with their respective host communities.
That means nearly half of the mining operators have not implemented agreements with the communities where they operate.
Abujacommunity confirmed that Zeberced Limited is one of the companies that have not completely fulfilled its obligation to its host community, an act that constitutes a violation of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (NMMA) 2007 and the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulation (NMMR) 2011.
The law emphasised adherence to the CDA’s social benefit of host community.
Consequently in 2021, Zeberced Limited ranked fourth in terms of production, after Dangote, BUA, and Lafarage, with about 3.3 million metric tonnes of granite, limestone, laterite, clay, and sand.
Abujacommunity findings showed that basic amenities were not provided for the residents of Kubwa community. This is in direct violation of the CDA, which stipulate in Section 116(1) of the NMMA 2007 that it is a requirement for the extraction of minerals in Nigeria.
Following the ratification of the Open Government Partnership and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative open data obligation, Nigerian government has directed that the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) put all CDAs on its website so that the public may easily access them.
“This would allow citizens to monitor the social benefits mining companies provide to the host communities while reinforcing trust between the government and the communities. Strong sanctions should also be meted out erring companies,” the statement said.
However, the signed CDAs held by the ministry are unavailable to the public.
Additionally, Abujacommunity found out that Zeberced Limited’s operations have become unlawful owing to its defective mining title. Its licence, which was obtained in August 2007 and expired on August 26, 2022, has not been renewed as at the last time Abujacommunity checked.
Venus Mining Company Limited is another company of interest. This is a Chinese business that was formally incorporated on February 5, 2010, with the registration number RC 867831. Its board of directors includes Guo Weiting, Ren Xiaoai, Chen Mingtong, and Ye Yuan Sheng. The company’s registered office is located in Shanghai, China, at FLT502, NO.72, STREET, 1059, XINHUROAD.
Venus Mining Limited produced over 117,390 metric tonnes of granite in 2020, and paid N6.7 million as royalty to the Federal Government (FG), according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s Solid Minerals Industry report.
Similarly in 2021, the company mined over 239 thousand metric tonnes of granites and paid 14.5 million naira in royalty to the federal government.
The company has also, produced over 48,674,322.81 metric tonnes of granite overall at its operation site since inception.
Furthermore, the company signed a “Community Development Agreement” on January 6, 2016, AbujaCommunity found.
The company is still listed as having an active mining title, but because it hasn’t updated its yearly reports, the firm is still listed as INACTIVE on Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
A firm is considered inactive by the CAC if it hasn’t given its updated information or if the company has disregarded its duty to submit and continue to file updated annual returns to the CAC. This indicates that the criteria stated in Sections 417–424 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 have not been followed by Venus Mining.
Dele Alake, the minister of mines and steel, said recently during the 2023 Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja that although the Federal Government had set requirements for foreign mining companies seeking licences to operate in Nigeria, they would need to invest locally in processing in order to get a licence.
He said the strategy is focused on creating jobs, therefore, mining businesses must submit business plans for “value addition” before being granted licenses.
He added that the mining sector “is being modernised, and the government is investing in data collection, spending more than N15 billion over seven years to generate mineral data through a National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP).”
To be continued.
