One of the earliest steps Governor Agbu Kefas took was to swiftly issue an Executive Order on illegal mining in the state. It was bold, new and very strategic. Coming at the right time, it was an effective way of check mating the drift in the mining sector. Illegal mining had hitherto eaten deeply into the fabric of that area, dealing with any meaningful exploration or exploitation of mineral resources. The state was hemorrhaging.
Apart from this drain on the state economy, illegal mining was at the heart of urban criminality and rural rascality. It was a threat to the financial fortunes of the state as well as its security. As far as dimensions and scale was concerned, the menace was wide spread with operations well coordinated by a cartel. It looked like the drug scene of Mafias in a movie.
The state was almost helpless as it continued to lose major revenue due to the leakage.
It was in the midst of all of these chaos that the no nonsense former soldier issued a stern order on clamping down on these underworld activities. Kefas essentially took the criminals by surprise. They didn’t see it coming.
The governor didn’t stop at this courageous declaration. Setting up a committee headed by a retired Army General, Faransa, Dr Agbu Kefas then set the stage for a revolution in the sector. Thankfully, Gen. Faransa came into his role prepared. A top ranking military man imbued with discipline and pursuit of excellence, he lurched out into the woods to get the job done.
General Faransa practically approached the task from a war mode angle. A man of a few words like his boss, the former military pension top brass pushed into the hinterlands with his team.
Weeks into his assignment, the committee can boast of major arrests, running the illegal mining cartel out of town and destroying illegal mining sites.
The coast is now clear for how best to tap into the abundance of the mining sector in the state.
