A Researcher and University Don has called on the state governments to establish State Mineral Development Corporation as part of plan to diversify revenue source of their States.
Speaking over the weekend during an Economic Summit, the Director of Research Centre, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, Prof. Nuhu Obaje, said the corporation should constitute itself into a vehicle to acquiring mining titles from the Mining Cadastre Office in Abuja.
Obaje said the corporation shall engage itself or other partners or sub lease the acquired acreages to a third party for the purpose of mining the solid mineral in those acreages .
According to Obaje, the corporation shall be self sustaining after initial take off grant and shall have the power to be able to supervise both upstream and downstream mining activities in the state as well as take grant from the industrialization Fund for its activities.
He stressed that the corporation shall set up Mineral Collection and Buying Centre to serve as one stop buying and selling centre for local and foreign manufacturers and provide protection to small and artisan miners involved in the industry.
Furthermore, he said the corporation shall organized artisanal and small scale miners into a cooperative societies for the purpose of training them on the best mining practices that will guarantee them value for their investment and ease revenue collection.
While calling on other states to be less dependent on oil owing to its volatility, the Director noted that Kogi State must diversify its revenue base by setting up the corporation.
According to him: “Kogi State has comparative advantage in the diversification programme through harnessing its abundant mineral deposits, using the corporation as a springboard for improving the revenue potentials instead of dependence on monthly statutory grants.”