The Sokoto state government has acquired 35 mining licenses to facilitate the extraction of solid minerals in various parts of the state.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal disclosed this while receiving the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, who paid him a traditional Sallah homage at the Government house.
According to him, the licenses are solely owned by the state government under the aegis of Sokoto Investment Company (SOIC) for the mining of gold and silver among other natural resources.
Tambuwal stated that the effort was part of the strategies being put in place for the state to generate more revenue into its coffers.
He said that anybody wishing to partner with the state government could do so.
The governor further explained that the reason behind the transfer of the Sokoto Central Market to SOIC was to upgrade the activities of the market to a modern one to generate more revenue.
He decried the current rent fees being paid by the traders, which he said, from January to date, was less than N100 million; with only N12 million generated in January while in June only N7 million was generated.
In comparison to this dismal income from the market, the Governor explained that the state was spending over N100 million monthly on the treatment of potable drinking water supplied to the people.
He said this made it imperative for the state government to provide more ways and strategies of generating income to have more revenues.
Governor Tambuwal assured that the state government, in the nearest future, would stand on its feet.
Agriculture
In agriculture, he said the state government in collaboration with security agencies, was making efforts to provide enough security to farmers in the state to enable them perform their farming activity without hitch.
While commenting on the ongoing projects being undertaken by the state government, the governor assured that the projects would be completed before the end of his tenure.
He thanked the Sultanate Council for the support and cooperation being given to his administration, its policies, and programs.
In his address, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, said they were at the Government Lodge to pay traditional Sallah homage in order to continue strengthening the cordial working relationship between Sultanate Council and the state government.
The Sultan commended the government for the projects being executed and called on politicians to respect people’s interests and desist from using people for criminal activities for their benefit during the electioneering as 2023 elections are around the corner.
He called on the youth not to allow any politician to use them to perpetrate criminal activities, just as he urged the leaders to fear Allah while discharging their duties.
Sultan Abubakar advised the state government to provide and reserve food items in case of any emergency so that it could get what to give out at a subsidised rate to the people.
Confidence Okwuchi
