Following the inauguration of mining company’s board, the lawmaker representing Irepo/Olorunsogo state constituency, Hon Kazeem Olayanju Orelope, has commended the Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde for the follow up on his motion on the large marble deposits in Igbeti, Olorunsogo local government.
Olayanju made the commendation on Friday, in reaction to the inauguration of the mining company’s board in Ibadan, the state capital.
Insideoyo.com recalls that Olayanju was the first person to raise an alarm on the floor of the 9th Assembly on the usefulness of the marble in Igbeti which is in line with the drive to shoot up the state’s internally generated revenue.
The chairman, House Committee on Information and Media, noted that Oyo state among other states in the South West has no reason being among financially incapacitated states, with the amount of mineral resources buried under its soil, which he described as “Untapped goldmine.”
While congratulating the members of the board, he explained that the marble site was discovered in 1976, and commissioned by the then governor of the state, Late Chief Ajibola Ige, but later hijacked by private firms in commercial volume, when it was abandoned by the government.
He stated further that explorational operations of these firms opened the city to the business world with countless remarkable social amenities they provided for the use of the host communities as at then.
Olayanju called on the Mineral Resources Development Agency, which was saddled with the responsibility of harnessing and exploring natural resources in the state, to set machineries in motion and begin immediate exploration activities, especially in the two most viable marble sites in the area; Alaguntan and Ogun road sites (along Igboho road), with the view of creating employment opportunities for the citizens, as well generating more income for the state