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As part of activities marking Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku’s one year in office, Commissioners and party faithfuls have been speaking on the giant strides of the present administration with key emphasis on the successes and challenges encountered in the past one year.
It is in the light of this that the Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Environment and Solid Minerals Development, Rebecca Manasseh described Governor Darius Ishaku as God sent to the state,taking into cognizance the enormity of challenges he inherited when he took over the mantle of leadership.
According to her, despite the challenges, the Governor worked positively for the progress and development of the state and today, the present administration is walking with its head high because of the ingenuity of the Chief Rescuer, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku.
Mrs. Rebecca Manasseh said Taraba state is naturally endowed with lots of land, forestry and solid minerals, but all have been lying fallow, because, successive administrations did not take a holistic look into these natural resources with a view to converting it for the common good of the people of the state.
Speaking specifically on the abundant mineral resources that are found in the state, Mrs. Manasseh explained that they are exclusively under the direct control of the Federal Government.
She disclosed that the State Government will soon obtain license from the Federal Government to go into mining as a means of improving on the internally generated revenue IGR, of the state.
The Commissioner of Environment and Solid Minerals maintained that the idea of the state engaging in mining is to reduce the state’s over-dependence on the monthly subvention from the federation’s account coupled with the fact that, the dwindling financial status of the state is on the decline.
She lamented that because of the neglect in the past by successive administrations, which depended largely on oil, most of the mining fields in the state have been overtaken by illegal miners, who are making huge profits to the detriment of both the Federal and Taraba state Governments.
Mrs. Manasseh disclosed that, collaborative efforts is ongoing between Taraba state and Federal Government to reclaim back the mining fields and to organize the illegal miners into cooperative societies and provide them with modern mining equipment.
This is to ensure that the miners do not lose their means of livelihood and at the same time beneficial to them, the state and the Federal Government as a whole.
On the illegal felling of the popular wood called Madrid, the Commissioner stated that Taraba State Governor, Arc. Darius Ishaku is not happy at the way and manner trees are indiscriminately cut, and quickly pointed out that, though, the state generates lots of revenue from it, but it has a negative impact on the environment.
The Commissioner revealed that very soon the state government would come out with measures that will discourage unnecessary felling of trees in the state.
She also disclosed that her Ministry has concluded arrangements to embark on sensitization campaign to all the villages to enlighten them on the negative implication of indiscriminate wood logging.
The Commissioner of Environment and solid Mineral Development, Rebecca Manasseh further said her Ministry is working indirectly with Task Force Committee on Sanitation to clean up the state and asserted that, the rescue mission is actually working in the state.
