- Niger State might cut off hydropower supply from the dams until the government meets demands.
- The governor demanded payment to the state from AEDC and NNPCL for hydrocarbon exchange.
Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has called on the federal government to pay 13 per cent derivation to Niger State for power generated and supplied to Nigerians through the four hydropower generating dams situated in the state. The governor stated this when the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, led other principal officials of the commission on a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House, Minna.
Bago decried the rate at which Nigerlites have been ravaged and displaced every year due to overflow of water as absurd. He suggested a round table discussion on the way out, or the state might cut off the power supply from the hydro dams until the government meets demands. He said organisations such as Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited should equally pay the state for the hydrocarbon exchange.
Governor Bago said the state has done a lot for the country, including ceding its land to create the nation’s capital, Abuja, hence the need for the federal government to compensate it. He expressed dismay over the Suleja-Minna Road dualisation project awarded in the last 12 years. He noted, however, that it is yet to be completed despite the state being a gateway between the Northern and Southern parts of the country, describing it as unacceptable. The governor said the state would no longer allow marginalisation, stressing that “enough is enough.” He reiterated that the state government would continue to push its demands until the federal government gives it the desired attention.