The House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals has said it is proposing five per cent of revenues on solid minerals to host communities.

The chairman of the committee, JONATHAN GAZA, disclosed this at a public policy dialogue on Nigeria’s minerals and mining legislation, organised by the committee at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

GAZA said the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (Amendment) Bill being considered would give five per cent of the total revenue of all minerals mined to the host communities.

He said the bill, when passed, would allow for the establishment of a Mines Inspection and Environmental Agency to provide improved and deeper oversight of mining activities, and bridge the gap between the Federal and State Governments to empower the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee for effective and joint oversight.

The Governor of Nasarawa State, ABDULLAHI SULE, who attended the session, said non-Nigerians operating in the nation’s solid minerals sector were earning big, leaving the citizens with peanuts.

He called for institutional reforms to turn around the fortunes of the sector for the benefit of Nigerians.

The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, BENJAMIN KALU, said the bill if passed, would mark a turning point for the nation’s mineral wealth, stressing that the nation’s vast mineral resources had remained largely untapped, and ignored by reliance on oil.