Gov. Wike urges FG to allow states develop their minerals, pay royalty Wike Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, on Monday urged the Federal Government to allowed states to develop and operate their respective minerals and pay royalty to the central government. Wike made the call when Mr Uchechukwu Ogah, the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Port Harcourt. He said the call became pertinent because the federal government which unilaterally controls the country’s rich mineral endowment has failed to translate the mineral wealth into overall economic development. The Governor maintained that in order for the country to benefit from its vast mineral endowment, the federal government should concentrate on the formulation of policies that will facilitate an improvement in the governance of the mining sector to improve social welfare of the citizens. “The federal government is carrying so much load that they are not suppos...