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Kogi state Deputy Governor, Elder Simon Achuba has expressed satisfaction over the God-given natural resources in the state, saying about 80% of the minerals classified by the mines and steels authority as world class and industrial are deposited in the state.
The Deputy Governor who delivered a paper on behalf of the state at African SME EXPO in Lagos, said the nation is endowed with a wide range of minerals as it currently has about 44 different types of minerals.
According to him, among the the World class minerals found in Kogi alone in commercial quantity included; crude oil, gold, coal, bitumen, gemstones, iron ore, cassiterite, tantalite, and columbite.
The industrial minerals also found in the state he said included, limestone, marble, clay, mica, feldspar, dolomite, silica sand, gypsum, kaolin, talc, tin, Magnesium and quartz.
The Deputy Governor said the availability of the natural resources in the state presents some good prospects for industrialization of the state and enhanced earning.
He said, just like other states of the federation, the structure under which they operate is a hindrance to the realization of the advantages “as virtually all states of the federation hosting essential natural endowments lack the legal instrument to appropriate and utilize them for the benefit of their people”.
He however said that the reforms put in place by the Federal Government in 2005 with the assistance of the World Bank, has improved the prospects of the mineral sector.
According to him, the reforms produced results which he said have now placed the mining on a pedestal to potentially contribute significantly to the economy, currently dominated by the oil and gas sector.
Noting that the rapid fall in oil prices has urged the government to diversify the economy away from over-dependence on oil, the Deputy Governor said such move has identified mining as a major driver for achieving the goal.
He said that the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 dispossessed the state governments of right of ownership to the mineral deposits in their states and leased their natural possessions to those who have the wherewithal but may not necessarily share any contiguous affinity with the state.
The Deputy Governor further submitted that “the states were denied the right to the revenues generated by the extraction of such mineral deposits and therefore, lack the financial capacity to empower the citizens to establish downstream industries (SMEs) to feast on the bi-products of the base industries.
He urged the stakeholders at the event to relate the developments to the improvement of SMEs in Nigeria in particular and the African Continent as a whole.
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