KWARA State government officials have asked that the state be included among the beneficiaries of 13% derivation fund from solid minerals because it is a major producer with 17 different products.
As Nigeria tries to diversify her economy, solid minerals have become a major focus of the government, with a particular emphasis on mining. Kwara State is a major source of solid minerals and its government wants to be included among the states that will be allowed to keep 13% of the revenue generated from mining as happens in oil-producing states.
Hajia Funmilayo Oniwa, the Kwara State commissioner for industry and solid mineral development, recently made the request in Ilorin at the stakeholders’ forum organised by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAC). She listed about 17 mineral resources in the state and queried its exclusion as an investment destination for solid minerals development by the Nigeria Mining and Metal Sector Investment Promotion (NMMSIP) in its August brochure.
According to Hajia Oniwa, the state contributed to the development of the solid minerals sector as a veritable source of revenue generation into the federation account. Also, she noted that the NMMSIP document ought to be sensitive to the mineral and investment potential of each state in view of the federal government’s diversification campaign.
Furthermore, Hajia Oniwa explained that the government would restructure the mineral architecture and enact laws enhancing its capacity for improved internally generated revenue. RMAC commissioner, Reverend Ajibola Fagboyegun agreed that Kwara State is endowed with mineral resources based on facts presented and promised that the team would visit some of its mining sites.
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