Let States Develop Mineral Resources, Pay Royalty, Wike Tells FG

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom 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 endowments, has failed to translate the mineral wealth into overall economic development.
Wike made this assertion when the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu Ogah, paid a courtesy call at the Government House, Port Harcourt, last Monday.
The governor maintained that in order for the country to benefit from its vast mineral endowments, the Federal Government must concentrate on formulation of policies that would 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 is supposed to be.”
He urged the minister to push for reforms that would enable states and local governments take charge of mining of solid minerals in their domains, and then, pay tax to the Federal Government.