A call had been made by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for restructuring to allow the federating units control their resources while paying royalties to the Federal Government.
Governor Wike made the call on Monday when the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu Ogah, visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
According to him, such restructuring became needful because the Federal Government, which unilaterally controlled the country’s resources, could not translate them to economic development.
Speaking further, the governor said for Nigeria to benefit from its vast mineral resources, the Federal Government should concentrate on formulation of policies that would facilitate improvement in the governance of the mining sector, to improve citizens’ welfare.
He said: “The Federal Government is carrying load it is not supposed to carry. Allow states to develop these minerals and pay royalty to the Federal Government. This the way it is supposed to be.”
Wike urged the minister to push for reforms that would enable local governments take charge of mining of solid minerals in their domains and then pay tax to the Federal Government.
”It is very important for people to know that part of the problems 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 emphasis on oil has reduced our impact on other minerals,” he said.
Wike also noted that if the country fully harnessed gold deposit in Zamfara State as well as minerals in other states, Nigeria would make huge revenue to accelerate development.
He lamented that despite the possibility of the Ajaokuta Steel Company project generating huge revenue for the country and creating about 3,000 jobs, the Federal Government, for political reasons, had failed to actualise the aspiration to become a major player in the global steel industry.
Wike said state governments were prepared to collaborate with the Federal Government to develop the mineral sector.
In his remarks, Ogah told the governor that he was in 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.
