Nasarawa State government has secured a licence for exploration of the enormous gold deposit in Uke in Karu local government area.
Governor Abdullahi Sule who disclosed this during the state executive council meeting said the state will benefit immensely from the exploration of the mineral deposit in the area of revenue generation and job opportunity for its teeming youths.
According to him, the state has also secured two licences for lithium exploration in Toto and Nasarawa local government areas of the state.
He said the administration had applied for the licences from the federal government in 2021, noting that it was gratifying that the state has been able to secure the same after a seamless process.
The governor revealed that some investors seeking to partner with the state in the area of mining have shown willingness to pay signature bonuses to the state like they do in the oil industry.
“We didn’t apply for these licences in our names; we did it for the state. Therefore, the state will be the beneficiary of whatever amount that we are going to get for these licences,” he said.
The governor also revealed that the State Investment Development Agency (NASIDA) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GreenPad Enterprise on low carbon economy soon.
“This is something that we have been looking forward to because we are really now getting into the category of states that we should be. We are there now. That’s the way things should be. There are going to be a lot of benefits to the state once we sign that low carbon economy,” he stated.
He equally disclosed that the Bureau for ICT has developed a new blueprint for Nasarawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency for 2023 to 2027.
“We have looked at it and we have sent it to NASIDA to review it because of the economic value it will bring to the state and I also sent it to the Ministry of Justice to review the areas of legal implications before we release it. Again, this will give us additional areas when it comes to the knowledge our youths and other beneficiaries will get. But more importantly in the area where we are getting the economic value,” he stated.
