Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has urged the Federal Government to allocate 13 per cent derivation to the state for power generation to Nigerians through the four hydropower generating dams situated in the state.

Bago made the appeal when the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally-Displaced Persons, Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Minna.

The governor, who decried the rate at which Nigerlites have been ravaged and displaced every year due to overflow of water from the hydro dams, described the situation as absurd.

Bago suggested a round-table discussion on the way out, or the state might cut off the supply of power from the hydro dams until its demands are met.

He also said organisations like Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should equally pay the state for the hydro carbon exchange.

The governor further said that the state had done a lot for the country, including the ceding of its land for the creation of the nation’s capital, Abuja, hence the need for the Federal Government to compensate the state for it.

He, however, expressed dismay over the Suleja-Minna Road dualisation project awarded in the last 12 years, and it is yet to be completed even though the state is a gateway between the northern and southern parts of the country, describing it as unacceptable.

The governor noted that the state would no longer allow itself to be marginalised, stressing that “enough is enough.”

He reiterated the state government’s willingness to continue to push its demands until the Federal Government gives it the desired attention. (The Guardian)

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