From Audu Joe, Lokoja
The Kogi state Governor, Yahaya Bello has demanded an upward review of the revenue derivable to states where solid minerals are mined.
He argued that the current 13 percent did not measure up to the attended negative consequences of mining activities and recommended that the allocation be reviewed from the statutory 13 percent to 20 percent.
Bello stated this at the North-Central zonal public hearing on the ongoing constitutional amendments in Lokoja during the week.
“Thirteen percent derivation is not commensurate to degradation and other effects of mining in host communities. I recommend 20 percent equity share for states on solid mineral mining,” he said.
The federal government had, in 2016, approved the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed 13 percent 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.”