Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, on Monday, urged the Federal Government to allowed states to develop and operate their respective minerals and pay royalty to the central government.

Wike made the call when Mr Uchechukwu Ogah, the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

He said the call became pertinent because the federal government which unilaterally controls the country’s rich mineral endowment has failed to translate the mineral wealth into overall economic development.

The Governor maintained that in order for the country to benefit from its vast mineral endowment, the federal government should concentrate on the formulation of policies that will facilitate an improvement in the governance of the mining sector to improve the social welfare of the citizens.

“The federal government is carrying so much load that they are not supposed to carry. Allow states to develop these minerals and pay royalty to the federal government, that is the way it’s supposed to be,” Wike said.

He urged the Minister to push for reforms that will enable states and local governments to take charge of the mining of solid minerals in their domains and then pay tax to the federal government.

“It is very important for people to know that part of the problem in this country is that everybody is depending on oil when we are also supposed to look at other minerals.

“Minerals play a great role in terms of raising revenue for any country, so our overemphasis on oil has reduced our impact on other minerals.”

Wike noted, “If the country fully harnesses the gold deposit in Zamfara as well as other minerals in other states of the federation, the country will make a lot of revenue from these minerals that can accelerate development.”

Wike lamented that despite the possibility of the Ajaokuta Steel Company project generating huge revenues for the country and creating not less than 3,000 jobs, the federal government, for political reasons, have failed to actualise the country’s aspiration to become a major player in the global steel industry.

He declared that the Rivers State government is prepared to collaborate with the federal government to develop the mineral sector of the country.

Wike advised the federal government to shun “playing politics with issues of economic development” and strive to entrench the ideals of good governance in the country.