Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has proposed that the federating units in Nigeria should be allowed to develop and operate their respective minerals and pay royalty to the Federal Government.
He said this has become pertinent because the Federal Government which unilaterally controls the country’s rich mineral endowment had failed to translate the mineral wealth into overall economic development.
A statement by Kelvin Ebiri,
Special Assistant, Media, to the Rivers State governor, said his principal made the assertion on Monday, when the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu S. Ogah, paid courtesy call at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
The governor maintained that in order for the country to benefit from its vast mineral endowment, the Federal Government should concentrate on formulation of policies that will facilitate an improvement in the governance of the mining sector to improve social welfare of the citizens.
“The federal government is carrying so much load that they are not supposed to carry. Allow states to develop these minerals and pay royalty to the federal government. That is the way it’s supposed to be,” he said.
He urged the minister to push for reforms that will enable states and local governments take charge of mining of solid minerals in their domain and then pay tax to the Federal Government.
“It is very important for people to know that part of the problem in this country is that everybody is depending on oil, when we are also supposed to look at other minerals. Minerals play a great role in terms of raising revenue for any country. So, our overemphasis on oil has reduced our impact on other minerals,” he added.
He noted that if the country fully harnesses the gold deposit in Zamfara as well as other minerals in other states of the federation, the country will make a lot of revenue from these minerals that can accelerate her development.
Speaking, Ogah, told the governor he came to the state to share with him the vision and policy focus of the Federal Government for the development of the nation’s solid mineral resources.
According to him, his visit is to solicit for the support and partnership of the government of Rivers State in ensuring the orderly and efficient exploitation of huge deposits of silica sand, glass sand and clay which occur in the state for construction purposes and glass manufacture.
“In addition, permit me to also remind you of the abundant sea salt yet to be exploited in Rivers as a State bordering the Atlantic Ocean, which might also be an interesting area for collaborative development also,” the minister said.