"Lithium Mining: CSOs demand inclusion of host communities' rights in the advocacy for a ‘Just Transition" 29 May 2024

Civil Society Organisations, CSOs have decried the exclusion of host communities in the negotiations following the federal government commissioning of a Lithium Mining Plant in Nasarawa State. The CSOs on the platform of Community Development Advocacy Foundation, CODAF, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative GAIA and the Renevlyn Development Initiative, RDI made the advocacy during a Webinar today, themed:’ Voices From Mining Communities’. BUSINESSDAY recalls that President Tinubu on May 10, 2024 commissioned a lithium processing factory in Nasarawa State built by a Chinese firm, Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited.

…In his opening remarks, Executive Director/ Co-Founder of CODAF, Benin Richard said if the process of mining does not respect nature, protect human rights and the environment, then it is not a ‘just transition’ but another form of energy colonialism. He noted that “While mining for minerals like lithium, cobalt, and copper needed for renewable technologies often occurs in occurs on Indigenous lands and in biodiversity hotspots, it is essential to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including their right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as per the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adding that mining projects must not proceed without the full consent and participation of affected communities.

…In his remarks titled ‘Why Nigeria is Heading On The path of doom’, Philip Jakpor, the executive director of RDI stated that the social, economic and environmental implications of Lithium Mining on the host communities will be too costly. He noted that following an investigation conducted by the RDI team, the consequences of lithium Mining in the community have exposed the community to increased crime rate, exposure to child labour/prostitution, and water pollution among several other societal ills. He recalled that just two weeks after the federal government had constituted the mining marshals, 4 Chinese illegal miners were arrested who had come into the community disguised as agriculturalists.