The Northern Governors’ Forum, in collaboration with the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, has called for a six-month suspension of all mining activities across the region, citing illegal mining as a major driver of insecurity.
Gatekeepers News reports that the leaders, who met on Monday in Kaduna, also agreed to establish a regional Security Trust Fund to bolster security operations. Under the plan, each state and its local governments will contribute a combined N1 billion monthly, deducted at source, to support joint operations, intelligence gathering, and coordinated responses to rising security threats.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the Forum said:
“The Forum observed that illegal mining has become a major contributory factor to the security crises in Northern Nigeria. The Forum, therefore, resolved to strongly recommend to the President to direct the Minister of Solid Minerals to suspend mining exploration for a period of six months to allow proper audit, and to subject all mining licences to revalidation in active consultation with state governors.”
On the security fund, the communiqué stated:
“In order to effectively confront the security crises in the North, the Forum resolved to set up a regional Security Trust Fund, to be funded with a monthly contribution of one billion naira from each state and local government, to be deducted at source under an agreed framework.”
The governors also extended condolences to states recently affected by killings and mass abductions, including Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Kano, as well as victims of Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe.
They commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for efforts leading to the release of some abducted schoolchildren and for ongoing interventions aimed at restoring peace.
The Forum further reaffirmed its support for all federal measures aimed at dismantling insurgent enclaves and ending criminal activities across the region.
