Several groups in coal mining communities in Enugu have demanded a halt to the planned commencement of coal mining in Enugu.The call emanated from youth and women groups in a communique issued during a meeting organised by environment group – the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) at a civil society/community meeting on halting the resuscitation of the moribund coal mines which was organised by ERA/FoEN in Enugu.
Participants were drawn from from the Colliery Quarters, Ogbete, Okpara and Ngwo. The groups decried the decision of the Nigerian government to resuscitate coal mining after signing a Memorandum of Understating (MoU) with Chinese firm –HTG-Pacific Energy Consortium, for the exploitation and mining of the coal block at Ogbete.
The terms of agreement compels the firm to generate about 1,000 megawatts from coal in Enugu.
In his speech, ERA/FoEN project officer, Philip Jakpor explained that in pushing through the deal with HTG, the Nigerian government was not transparent as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) may not have been conducted and it if was, the community people were not part of the process as stipulated by law.
Jakpor said that in selling the coal fields government had not set limits of the excavations and did not consider the impact of such excavations with grave impacts on farmlands and the livelihoods of the locals.
“In communities we visited we saw moribund equipment and the footprints of years of coal mining that did not translate to income to the locals. We witnessed these devastations in lands around Okpara, Ogbete and Onyeama. What they have is only sorrow and doubts of the future as government engages in media blitz on the planned resuscitation of the mines”
A former miner, Paul Chimezie also took a swipe at the Enugu State government for forcefully evicting old and retired mine workers without providing suitable accommodation for them. He explained that “many of the miners were taken unawares. Bulldozers just came and chased them away. It is totally shocking.”
Chimezie said that all the promises of jobs from the commencement of coal mining in Enugu were mere hype as the former miners had nothing to show and neither will the renewed activity to generate 1,000 megawatt of electricity from coal. He added that the burning of coal for power station will also poison the environment.
Stephanus Amaechi who is from Ngwo community said the Chinese company had been carrying out its operations in complete secrecy hence the government claim of benefits to the communities and Enugu in general would seem like a mirage.
