Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has advocated the exploration of solid mineral deposits to create job opportunities and boost national economy as a panacea to insecurity.
The Director-General of Media and Publicity to the governor, Abdu Labaran, made the call in a statement issued to newsmen on Monday.
According to the statement, the governor stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, in Abuja.
The governor noted that the agitations for resource control and restructuring would be addressed if the nation’s resources were fully harnessed and exploited.
According to him, every state in the country is sufficiently endowed with one mineral resource or the other, but they were not fully tapped.
He solicited the support of the ministry to assist in harnessing the huge solid mineral deposits in Katsina state.
The governor also pledged to provide an enabling environment for the exploration of the minerals by genuine investors.
The statement also quoted the minister as reminding state governments that mineral resources, wherever they are found, are constitutionally entrusted to the Federal Government to manage on behalf of Nigerians.
Mr Olamoleka said it was therefore wrong for any state to claim ownership of mineral resources found within its territory.
NAN
