Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has called for increased involvement of state governments in the development and exploitation of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
He believes such inclusion is critical to unlocking the sector’s full potential and supporting national economic diversification.
Speaking on Tuesday during a visit by members of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development to the Government House in Enugu, Mbah emphasized the need for structural reforms in how the sector is managed.
“There’s a need for more state inclusion in the exploitation of the nation’s solid minerals to enable the nation actualise the sector’s huge potential and help diversify the nation’s economy,” the governor said.
He also raised concerns about the scale of losses Nigeria continues to suffer due to unregulated and illegal mining activities across various states.
Mbah “decried the nation’s huge losses to illegal mining,” highlighting it as a major obstacle to maximizing the country’s mineral wealth.
The Senate delegation was in Enugu as part of its oversight and consultation efforts to assess state-level involvement and challenges within the solid minerals sector.
