Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has welcomed the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Mines on the state’s tax disputes with Thors Explorations Limited.
Governor Adeleke said the state has validated claims within the context of the Constitution and extant laws.
A statement by his Spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed says the governor had earlier reached out to the Minister of Mines, Mr. Dele Alake on phone, pointing out that the state supports all efforts to drive Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria but said investors have a duty to be transparent, obey local laws and protect the environment from degradation.
Explaining that the state government had opened discussions and negotiations with Thors Exploration since 2023 without any results, the Governor said Segilola Resources Operating Limited had an accumulated tax liabilities of 3.25 Billion naira with a Demand Notice issued in April, 2024.
The governor, who said Osun has the legal rights to collect tax liability, also noted that Thors Explorations was operating six other companies on the site without disclosure to the state government for tax and environmental accountability purposes.
He listed the companies to include, SINIC Engineering Limited, ATF Consulting Limited, Monument Nigeria Limited, Rabaa Cleaning Limited, Deep Rock Drilling Services and CEFO Security Limited
The Osun helmsman submitted that Thor Exploration Limited confirmed that Osun has Five Million, One Hundred and Ninety Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Ninety Six units of shares of Thor Exploration, United Kingdom, insisting that Osun is entitled to collect financial implications to date as a shareholder.
While lamenting the extensive environmental degradation occasioned by Thors’ mining activities in Osun State, Governor Adeleke said the company has a duty to pay for environmental reclamation just as the environment is on the concurrent legislative list.
“Osun State has a robust partnership with the Federal Ministry of Mines. Our state has several mining licenses. So we are critical stakeholders with a deep understanding of the laws and the constitution. Our action is to get what is due to our state as affirmed by extant laws and practices.
“So we look forward to receiving the Federal fact finding team. We have prepared our position. Thors cannot hide under mining being on exclusive legislative list to avoid local tax, deny shareholders their rights and violate our environment with impunity”, the Governor was quoted as saying.
RadioNigeria / Abdullahi Kareem
