Khadijat Saidu, Birnin Kebbi.
Kebbi State government has registered 20,000 artisanal miners under the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PGMI) introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This is contained in a statement signed by Abubakar Dakingari, the Chief Press Secretary to Kebbi Governor and made available to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi.
He said the programme was aimed at giving legal backing and support to artisanal miners.
Accordingly, Governor Bagudu appreciates the Federal Government for making Kebbi State a beneficiary of the program as the initiative will put a halt to activities of illegal miners and improved the economic prosperity of youths, thereby reducing insecurity in the state.
He also said that the governor had assured that the state government would take appropriate action to resettle victims of the recent flooding in the state and provide support to farmers to recovered the losses.
According to the statement, the Governor added that before schools resume on Monday, the state government would make speedy arrangements to provide alternative classrooms for those whose schools were being used as camps for Internally Displaced People (IDPs).
The gold mining Initiative launched in Birnin Yauri, Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi State early this year also covers artisanal miners in Osun State, the statement concluded.
