Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state has demanded an upward review of the revenue given to states where solid minerals are mined.
He argued that the current 13 per cent did not measure up to the attended negative consequences of mining activities and recommended that the allocation to be reviewed from the statutory 13 per cent to 20 per cent.
Bello stated this at the North-Central zonal public hearing on the ongoing constitutional amendments in Lokoja on Tuesday.
“Thirteen per cent derivation is not commensurate to degradation and other effects of mining in host communities. I recommend 20 per cent equity share for states on solid mineral mining,” he said.
The federal government had, in 2016, approved the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed 13 per cent derivation from mineral revenues to deserving states.
Bello expressed his support for the constitutional review exercise, stressing that review was “one of the tools to address issues in the national polity.”
The two-day event, organised by the House of Representatives Special Committee on Constitutional Review, started on Tuesday and is billed to end on Wednesday.
