National President of Dimension Stone Operators in Nigeria, Kabiru Umar, has urged government to tidy up and ensure speedy approval to buy, store and carry out blasting activities in mining operations.
Kabiru Mohammed in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP WEKEND yesterday said “one of the “difficulties affecting us heavily is getting approval and storage for explosives, adding that the scarcity is slow and frustrating activities of the industry seriously.”
The president maintained that getting approval for their magazines (storage for explosives) was very difficult as members have to move from one place to another, but after moving, find it difficult to get the permit when they arrive their new sites.
?He said, “as Nigerians we want safety so that the explosives will not get into wrong hands, but all the same, government needs to hurry to tidy up on the issues of granting permits.”
Meanwhile the managing director of one of the construction companies who spoke anonymously to LEADERSHIP said before the onset of Boko Harams, they had faced challenges of security in the Niger Delta, but was worried that in the case of Boko Haram, terrorism has been restored.
He? maintained that the need for review of the 1964 and 1976 regulations was necessary, and recommended the establishment of more regional offices as most quarries operate in remote areas and find it difficult to access their needs in the FCT.
He then? urged government to improve the capacity of the Nigerian anti bomb squad.
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