The Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, on Monday, lamented that bandits had taken over vast mineral-rich, ungoverned lands in his state.
He, however, said his administration was partnering security agencies to restore security in the troubled regions and to also provide safety for the resumption of mining activities within the next one year.
The governor, who spoke in Abuja, said he was looking for alternative sources of revenue such that Niger State would not have ti lean too heavily on the Federation Account to meets its responsibilities.
Bago’s comments comes barely 24 hours after bandits reportedly killed 38 persons and kidnapped several others in the Rafi local government area of the state.
The Niger helmsman spoke with State House Correspondents after a visit by the Progressive Governors’ Forum to congratulate President Bola Tinubu on the National Assembly elections which saw the ruling party’s Senator Godswill Akpabio emerge as the Senate President and Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said, “We are endowed as a state with a lot of mineral deposits and it’s not unrelated to the insecurity issues. Most of the places where you see these banditries are places where you have lithium or gold. So, a lot of these activities are associated to why the banditry is springing up.
“However, we will harness our mineral potentials. We don’t intend to come to Abuja every day to collect federal allocation. As a state, we have to put all things in order so that we can harness this potential.
“We’re working with security agencies to make sure that we curb this menace and by the grace of God, we will come out tops.
“Now, the state also has an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle), the state mining corporation, where we’re hoping to have an MOU with other mining companies so that we can harness that potential and I can assure you the next one year, we will come out top.”
