Group tells Nigerian Government to be wary of coal mining deal with Indian firm

The Indian firm has been implicated in unsavoury mining acts in Mozambique.
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN, has cautioned the Federal Government from going ahead with a rumoured deal with Jindal Power and Steel India, to revitalise coal mining in the country.

In a statement on Thursday in Lagos, the group said that the rumour, if true, would be a “bad omen” for communities already suffering environmental impacts of mining in Enugu and other states where coal is mined.
“Not only is this planned engagement with Jindal disturbing, it clearly indicates that the Nigerian government is yet to get a grasp of the magnitude of environmental challenges that dirty energy ignites,” said Godwin Ojo, ERA/FoEN’s Executive Director. “Our position is that government must stop hobnobbing with so-called investors only interested in promoting dangerous and outmoded extractive operations.”
Some media reports last week indicated that the Nigerian government may have tipped the Indian firm to tap the country’s coal vast mine deposits.
ERA/FoEN’s aversion to the plan is predicated on news indicating that Jindal operations in other parts of Africa continue to impact communities.
In Mozambique, the company is said to have promised not to extract coal before resettlement of the communities, or occupy lands without first negotiating with their legitimate owners. It, however, breached these agreements, sparking protests in the communities where local folks also complain of environmental impacts.
Mr. Ojo asked: “Will the Nigerian government feign ignorance of Jindal’s tango with communities in Tete province of Mozambique where the company is extracting coal from an open pit mine without an environmental impact study or ensuring the safety of the local communities? Did our government carry out background checks on this company before engaging in this clear misadventure?”
Reports also indicated that Jindal usurped community farms with standing crops without any warning, thereby seriously undermining the communities’ food sovereignty. The company’s operations are said to have inflicted communities with respiratory and other serious problems due to their proximity with the open pit mines. The company also has internal issues such as discrepancies in pay and subsidies to employees.
Mr. Ojo stated that ERA/FoEN’s field monitors have documented that the Federal Government’s policy of reviving the moribund coal mines especially in Enugu and other parts of the country has started raising disaffection in the communities.
According to Mr. Ojo, those communities have not only suffered impacts of abandoned mines and open pits, but also those whose lands and residential quarters are now being forcefully taken away from them like is happening in Iva Valley and Ogbete in Enugu.
“The way to go is clean and safe renewables (energy) that are cheap, community based which do not erode livelihoods or negatively affect the environment,” Mr. Ojo said. “This is not the time for risky misadventures. We do not support any deal with Jindal or any other company that does not respect people and the environment. The Nigerian government should put a brake on this calamitous journey.”