Gov. Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has pledged to revive mining activities to woo investors to the state.
Alhaji Ahmed Idris, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, disclosed this in a statement provided to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday.
The CPS reportedd his principal as saying this while inspecting mining sites at Warrah and Birnin Yauri in Ngaski and Yauri local government areas of the state.
The governor said that the tour was part of efforts to revive mining activities in the various areas, apart from diversifying the revenue base of the state.
He noted with satisfaction that Kebbi State had multiple sources of revenue beside farming, yet it remained one of the major and giant contributors to national food security.
Gov. Idris assured that his government was ready to support mining activities in all ramifications, to make it more formal, more attractive and more interesting to miners and potential investors.
The governor said: “The present administration is ready to holistically revive mining activities in the state to attract investors and also boost the internally generated revenue of the state.
“I want to use this medium to charge the youth engaged in the mining activities to be law abiding and to ensure that any new comer to the area was identified by community leaders to avoid any criminal tendencies.”
Conducting the governor round the area, the Chairman, Ngaski Local Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Buhari-Warrah, said mining had been on in the areas for a very long time, but that some miners had abandoned the business.
The chairman expressed delight that the new administration under Kauran Gwandu was ready to revive and formalise the business in the areas.
Buhari-Warrah assured the governor that the council was ready to extend all the necessary support to the “gigantic efforts to diversify the state’s IGR”.
The governor’s entourage comprised the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Yakubu Bala-Tafida; Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Abubakar Chika, Commissioner of Solid Minerals and Mine Development, Haliru Mohammed-Wasagu.