ABUJA – Mr Hamza Lawal, the Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development (CODE), an NGO, has advocated for a strong institutional framework to check water contamination caused by mining activities in the country.
Lawal made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said that the call became necessary to ensure that people who depend on water from local ponds do not become vulnerable to dangers of contaminated water.
He said that unregulated mining activities was adversely affecting the waters.
He, therefore, advocated for a framework that would regulate the practice in order to protect the water from further pollution.[eap_ad_2]
“We need a very strong institutional framework to deal with this because if you look at the extractive industry, we need huge investments.
“And if you do not have strong institutional framework, the private sector will not tap into it and our government alone cannot fund the sector.
“So, if we get good policy and institutional framework, the private sector will be confident to put in resources that would in turn benefit the people,’’ Lawal said.
NAN recalls that there have been an outbreak of diseases caused by the consumption of contaminated water in some parts of the country.
A deadly lead poisoning outbreak in Zamfara in 2010 killed 400 children and continues to claim young victims due to illegal gold mining activities. (NAN)[eap_ad_3]