Niger Govt’s Agitation on Derivation Law

The Niger State Government has filed a suit against the federal government at the Supreme Court, seeking to be included in the 13 per cent derivation allocation for states that generate power. The state's counsel argued that Niger State, host to four major hydroelectricity dams, should be classified as a natural resource-producing state and therefore entitled to the derivation fund.

The state is predominantly agrarian, with a large population engaged in subsistence farming, and the presence of the dams has limited agricultural activities. Critics from the Niger Delta region have dismissed the suit, citing the region's significant contribution to power generation through oil money.

The outcome of the suit is eagerly awaited by many.