By Joseph Kingston
Governor Liyel Imoke has called on the federal government to remove solid minerals from the exclusive list.
In a chat with journalists in Calabar, the governor said: “This is necessary because, for instance, mineral resources in Cross River do not belong to the state. It is on the federal government’s exclusive list.”
He said: “Since the stop of oil revenue Cross River state, we have lost N30 billion but we have got N6 billion back through the approval of His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan. The finances of the state are low but we can still manage to complete our projects.”
“There is no private company that will come to Cross River until they know the known reserve”, he said, noting that “it is a huge cost item. If they come and the reserve is not enough, they have lost money.
“We have no capacity as a state to determine the quantity or reserve of barite. It is the federal government’s responsibility to determine the reserve. So it is very difficult to have investment in solid mineral in Nigeria because there is no reserve determination.
“So, we say take it off the exclusive list. As long as it is on exclusive list and we continue to rely on oil, not much can be achieved. But even in the quarries in Akamkpa, all investors pass through Abuja while we suffer all the environmental degradation.
“Oil is in only nine states, but solid minerals are in all the states. This is something that can bring rapid growth and development if we take it off the exclusive list and encourage private investors to come.”