The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has warned China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd., operators of quarry sites in the state, against shortchanging host communities in their Community Development Agreements (CDAs).
The Chairman, Assembly Committee on Environment, Mr Mohammed Omadefu, issued the warning on Thursday, when the members visited the Quarry Section of the company in Wowyen and Wogan Communities of Nassarawa Eggon LGA.
Omadefu said that keeping faith with the agreement would help to scale up the standard of living of the people of the host communities.
He said that the visit was to enable the committee to assess the activities of the company in the communities.
He also disclosed that the visit was to help ensure that the company adhered to the CDAs, in line with international best practices.
“We are here as part of our constitutional obligations to oversight the activities of the company in the state.
“Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution as amended has empowered us to ensure the safety of our people, the environment, water and air.
“We are also here to ensure that the company adhered strictly to environmental laws,” Omadefu said.
He decried what he described as the “poor CDAs” entered into by the company with the host communities.
“The worst of it is that the CDAs as confirmed by the two communities are low.
“The N2 million given to the communities to fix the impact of a recent blast on some buildings, as confirmed by the communities’ youth leaders, was too small.
“Also, part of the CDAs is that N1million is given to the communities for a whole year for development. This is also too small.
“In general, the CDA is not too good.
“This is an investment with a huge return. Therefore, giving N1 million for a whole year to a community for development is small,” Omadefu said.
He expressed dismay over the lack of a clinic on the premises as well as the company’s unhygienic environment.
“The company must live above board to ensure that our people are protected and their standard of living improved,” he said.
In separate speeches, the Quarry Manager, Mr Lin Hui and Site Manager, Mr John Alfa, said that the company was adhering to CDAs, in the interest of peace and development of the area.
They promised to improve on the existing corporate social responsibility, in order to better the lot of the communities.
The Wowyen Community Youth Chairman, Mr Luka Avre, and his Wogan counterpart, Mr Albert Attah, thanked the committee for ensuring that the company adhered to good CDAs.
They also commended the committee for ensuring the development of their communities.
They promised their readiness to continue to live in unity and peace, irrespective of their political affiliations.