Nkechinyere Ewa-Okpara
ISAAC Okorie, the Director of the Economic Geology Department at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, has urged the Ebonyi State government to allocate 20% of its annual budget for mining activities in the state.
Okorie made this statement during a one-day conference titled “Solid Minerals in Ebonyi: The Government and the People,” held in Abakaliki over the weekend.
He emphasized that such political will would reshape and enhance the state’s economy.
“I will suggest that the Ebonyi state government should muster the required political will to set aside a minimum of 20% of its annual budget to support mining, mineral exploration, and processing of mineral resources in Ebonyi state.
The reason, according to him, is that the mineral sector requires huge investment. It also requires expertise. It also requires know-how, expertise, and political will.
“Most of the products in Ebonyi state are operating at a very low level, and the benefits are extremely low because they do not have the capacity, both financial capacity, technical capacity, and so on.
” If the state government sets up a special purpose vehicle, like a commercial enterprise, and puts the money in the form of a bond, or set aside some funds to support the development of mineral resources within its boundaries, they can do that partnering with the federal government.
“They can also do that by partnering with highly experienced companies, other exploration companies from overseas, or even Nigeria’s big mining companies, who could come as a result of the availability of well-researched exploration datasets endorsed by what we normally call a competent person.
” In the whole of Ebonyi state, and all the years and decades of exploration and mining, there is no single exploration document here that is endorsed by a competent person, not one. And for you to be able to access funds internationally and locally, you need to explore the right way.
“You need to follow the right procedures. You need to follow the right procedures by licensed and certified geoscientists, both locally and foreign. “He suggested.
Francis Nwifuru, governor of Ebonyi state represented by Oguzor Ofia-Nwali, Commissioner for Commerce and Business Development, noted that the state government is committed to harnessing its various mineral resources.
He urged the mining investors in the state to operate with the guiding policies of the business and ensure that the host communities have the Community Development Agreement (CDA).
Chidi Onyia, state Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, explained that the conference was in collaboration with the Ebonyi State University (EBSU) and the Ike-Elechi Ogba Foundation.
The commissioner noted that the programme was to reflect on the significant strides made in repositioning the solid minerals sector in the state.