Jang Makes Case For Ecological Fund

Governor  of Plateau Jonah Jang has appealed for the release of the special allocation from the ecological fund to help in rehabilitating the damages done to the state by years of mining tin and columbite.

The governor made the call while receiving the Presidential Youth Committee on Deregulation of the Downstream Sector of the Oil Industry which paid him a courtesy visit.

He said the state actually provided a substantial part of the fund used for the initial prospecting for petroleum in the Niger Delta in the 1960s.

Jang also recalled other major contributions made by the state to the nation’s economy.

Our correspondent quoted the governor as saying that, tin and columbite from Plateau had once sustained the country’s economy in the 60s and 70s.

Jang said that a new revenue allocation formula was long overdue and must be reviewed if the state was to get any substantial impact form the fuel subsidy removal.

“The Federal Government is sitting on 52 per cent of the revenue of the whole country and yet the nation’s population is in the state and local governments.

“It is sad that every year, the federal budget does not have any impact in Plateau State. The federal presence in Plateau is nothing; even the federal roads in the state are death traps.”

The governor said that this was in spite of the fact that the state had paid its due in striving to sustain the unity and prosperity of the country.

He argued that a fair share of ecological fund from the Federal Government ought to be made available to the state to ameliorate the effects of the devastations left behind by decades of mining.

“When this country became independent, Plateau Province was feeding the entire national economy with tin and columbite mining.

“The money used for prospecting the petroleum was from here (Plateau). But today, we are forgotten; we are left with devastated land instead with all kinds of dangerous ponds.

“These ponds are dangerous to humans in all respects. Because of tin mining, we are being inflicted with cancer of all sorts for men, women and children,” he stated.

Jang noted that the then government did not carry out environment impact assessment on the effect of the mining on the people and the environment.

According to him, recent researches have shown that mining sites and ponds have now become contaminated with radioactive materials which are dangerous to humans, animals and plants.

The governor stated further that water being taken in many villages and the sand being used in building houses were contaminated and had led to increased cases of breast and pelvic cancer in the state.

“All these are the prize we (Plateau people) paid for the country yet nobody is saying anything. Rather, we are being seen as a parasite when others had been parasites on us.

“If you look at revenue allocation to states, Plateau is among the least paid.

“Plateau State will even get near nothing out of proceeds of the fuel subsidy removal when shared according to revenue allocation,” he said.

The leader of the team, Dr Jophia Gupar, said that the team was in the state to enlighten youths on the gains of the fuel subsidy removal and to discuss the benefits accruable to Plateau in the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment (SURE) Programme.