The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the federal government must partner with sub-national governments to fully harness the huge potential which the nation’s mining sector holds.

Obaseki made the declaration during a courtesy call on him by the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, on Thursday, February 17, 2022, in Government House, Benin City, the Edo State capital.

According to the governor, the partnership has become necessary to avert the activities of illegal miners who degrade the environment and in some cases use proceeds from mining to sponsor insurrection as it is the case in some African countries.

“We must partner with the federal government so that we can coordinate the sector, as mining is one of the areas of focus for our administration. We need to collaborate on licensing, regulation and environmental management” he said.

Obaseki told the minister that Nigeria’s overreliance on oil and gas has not helped the country much, adding “the outlook for hydrocarbons is not particularly great. We have to look outside to grow our economy, but in doing that we must not repeat past mistakes.

“We need sub-laws, and derive our own state laws from the national laws to give us enough strength to enforce some of these policies as this will check illegal mining in the state and the country.

"The centre that has the control on mining activities doesn't have the ability to enforce that control and people are just doing what they like and because of that weak regulation, multiple environmental problems are created.

"For us to get mining activities right, the federal government must cooperate and coordinate with states very closely to improve revenue for both the state and federal government. I call on the federal government to enforce the mining laws to ensure sanity in the sector. We are committed to partnering with the federal government to jointly coordinate and regulate the sector,” the governor added.

Earlier, Dr. Ogah commended the governor for prioritizing human capital development and economic transformation of the state, assuring that his ministry was ready to partner with governments at all levels to ensure that the socio-economic gains derivable from the sector are shared to guarantee sustainable growth.

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