The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Thursday, decried the outbreak of lead poisoning in Rafin Local Government Area of Niger State, due to small scale or artisanal mining of gold in the area.

Saraki, who stated this when the representatives of Doctors Without Borders led by Dr  Simba Tirima paid him a courtesy call, said it was unfortunate that the incident in Niger State occurred at a time the nation is yet to recover from the ravages of a similar incident in Bagega, Zamfara State, where over 400 children were affected in 2013.

The lawmaker lamented that 28 children had already died as a result of the lead poisoning  in Rafin Local Government Area of Niger State, and called on the Ministry of Solid Minerals to be proactive in tackling the incidence so as to safeguard the health of the people living in the area, especially children.

The Senate President said the Senate would work with the various stakeholders to ensure that all funds made available was  utilised for proper remediation of the affected communities and the treatment of children already affected by lead poisoning.

According to him “I want to assure you that this National Assembly will make this issue a matter of great urgency to ensure that all that was made available for the remediation that needs to be done either through the funds of the ecological agency or through the 2016 budget, is done not only to address the case in Niger State, but also we must be proactive and there must be a level of funding available for this.

“This cannot happen in any developed society today. We need to begin to also identify areas in this country where gold mining is resulting in lead poisoning. Like he (Tirima) said, we cannot stop the miners because it as a result of poverty, this is their only source of income to survive.

“It is our duty to improve and make mining safer. I think it is important also that the Ministry of Solid Minerals takes quick and proactive actions in addressing the issue of lead poisoning.

“The state government has a role to play as well. We must get the government of Niger State and Rafin Local Government involved. They should play their own role in educating the stakeholders to understand why they must stop their mining activities,” he said.

The representative of the Doctors Without Borders, Dr  Simba Tirima, commended the Senate President for his efforts towards curtailing the lead poisoning incidence  in Bagega, Zamfara State in 2013, when he was the chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology in the seventh Senate