A
abujagirl
Guest
The Nigerian Government on Monday warned parents, individuals and companies to desist from engaging children in mining and quarrying activities in the country. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Marshall Gundu, the Deputy Director of Press in the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in Abuja.
The statement quoted, Mr Obiora Azubike, the Director, Department of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in the ministry, as giving the warning in Minna during the campaign on the elimination of child labour in mines and quarries.
Azubike, who was represented by Mrs Hassana Sha’aba, the Desk Officer, Child Labour, said that mining and quarry operations were not meant for children less than 18 years.
He said that child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining was a serious problem as it involved a larger section of the solid minerals sector.
He described child labour in mining and quarrying as worst form of child labour because of the extent and severity of the hazards, risks of death, injuries and diseases associated with it.
Azuibike expressed government’s support for elimination of child labour in mining and quarrying activities across the country.
He said that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182, which Nigeria ratified in 2001, identified child labour as the worst form of child abuse.
"Nigeria has other legislations apart from the ILO convention and the Nigerian Constitution, which deal with incidents of child labour; these include the Child Rights Act. Others are the National Agency for Trafficking in Persons, the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004 as well as the Mineral and Mining Act 2007,’’ he said.
Azuibike said that Section 49 (a&b) of the Mineral and Mining Act 2000, specified the qualifications for small-scale mining lease, adding that it also excluded children from mining.
He said that in 2011, the ministry through a World Bank Project, the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resource Project, contracted a consultant to conduct a survey on child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining.
The director said that the survey, which was carried out in some mining and quarrying sites in 15 states, discovered that a large number of children were employed in the mining sub-sector.
The director said that the children were forced to take unfavourable economic responsibilities, adding that this had affected their physical wellbeing and their psychological development.
He said that the survey covered Zamfara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kogi, Edo, Anambra, Ebony, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Taraba, Gombe, Oyo and Ekiti states as well as the FCT.
Besides, Azuibike said that children engaged in mining and quarrying operations in four Local Government Areas in Oyo and Osun states had been disengaged and sent back to schools. He said that the National Policy on Child Labour and the National Action Plan for Elimination of Child Labour would be launched soon.
The statement quoted, Mr Obiora Azubike, the Director, Department of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in the ministry, as giving the warning in Minna during the campaign on the elimination of child labour in mines and quarries.
Azubike, who was represented by Mrs Hassana Sha’aba, the Desk Officer, Child Labour, said that mining and quarry operations were not meant for children less than 18 years.
He said that child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining was a serious problem as it involved a larger section of the solid minerals sector.
He described child labour in mining and quarrying as worst form of child labour because of the extent and severity of the hazards, risks of death, injuries and diseases associated with it.
Azuibike expressed government’s support for elimination of child labour in mining and quarrying activities across the country.
He said that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182, which Nigeria ratified in 2001, identified child labour as the worst form of child abuse.
"Nigeria has other legislations apart from the ILO convention and the Nigerian Constitution, which deal with incidents of child labour; these include the Child Rights Act. Others are the National Agency for Trafficking in Persons, the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004 as well as the Mineral and Mining Act 2007,’’ he said.
Azuibike said that Section 49 (a&b) of the Mineral and Mining Act 2000, specified the qualifications for small-scale mining lease, adding that it also excluded children from mining.
He said that in 2011, the ministry through a World Bank Project, the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resource Project, contracted a consultant to conduct a survey on child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining.
The director said that the survey, which was carried out in some mining and quarrying sites in 15 states, discovered that a large number of children were employed in the mining sub-sector.
The director said that the children were forced to take unfavourable economic responsibilities, adding that this had affected their physical wellbeing and their psychological development.
He said that the survey covered Zamfara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kogi, Edo, Anambra, Ebony, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Taraba, Gombe, Oyo and Ekiti states as well as the FCT.
Besides, Azuibike said that children engaged in mining and quarrying operations in four Local Government Areas in Oyo and Osun states had been disengaged and sent back to schools. He said that the National Policy on Child Labour and the National Action Plan for Elimination of Child Labour would be launched soon.