The Niger State government has dragged the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to the Supreme Court over its omission from the 13 per cent derivation.
In an originating summons at the apex court, the Niger State government, through its counsel Mohammed Ndarani, SAN, seeks the interpretation and application of section 232 (1) & (2) of the Nigerian constitution.
The suit seeks the inclusion of Niger State in the 13 per cent derivation as enshrined in the Enactment of Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, etc.) Act, 2004.
The state wants the court to determine whether Niger State does not qualify to be classified among the states that produce natural resources and is therefore not entitled to 13 per cent derivation within the meaning of 162(2) of the 1999 constitution.
The subject matter of the suit is the failure of the federal government to include Niger State among the beneficiary states of the 13 per cent derivation.
It is also about the omission of remitting the same proceeds of fiscal revenue generated and accrued through hydroelectric power dams in Niger, the territory, and part of the resources of Niger to the overall electricity generation to the national grid in Nigeria from 1968 to date.
Mr Ndarani argued that the state hosts four major hydroelectric dams: Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro and Zungeru, serving as a powerhouse for electricity supply to various states in the country.
He also said that through these power stations, the federal government extends electricity supply to the Republics of Niger, Benin, and Togo.
He averred that the attorney general was brought before the apex court because he has an oversight legal advice function over advising and representing the accountant general.
The accountant general has the constitutional role of preparing the nation’s financial statements arising from the collection and receipts of income, fees, rentals and taxes and payment out of the federation account.
That the attorney general at all times is charged with legally advising and representing the auditor general of the federation and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission that oversees revenue accruing to, and disbursement of, such funds from the federation account.
He said that the defendant represents and advises the president on all legal matters involving the functions of the president but has failed over the years in its duties.
This, according to him, should have been to ensure an equitable distribution of resources in conformity with the current realities, particularly in relation to the enormous fiscal revenue generated by Niger State.
The senior lawyer stated that Niger is a purely agrarian state, as the inhabitants are subsistence farmers whose produce is enjoyed across the state and beyond.
He noted that as a result of the large expanse of the land occupied by the dams, a large population of the citizens and residents of Niger are denied the opportunity of engaging in agricultural activities.
He said that Niger, host to the dams, which were established in 1968 and have laid the golden eggs, has been a victim of incessant and continuous flooding in recent years and is still counting.
This has resulted in wanton loss of human lives and livestock as well as destruction of properties, leading unavoidably to displacement of many residents from their homes.
He claimed that the physicochemical/microbiological impact assessment report conducted by the state government showed the level of degradation in the affected areas.
This represents an impending danger for the state over the coming years if urgent environmental protection measures are not taken.
He also said decried thew continuous exploitation and utter impoverishment of the people of Niger, noting that defendant continuously and continually whisked off profits from the state.
The federal government should not be only concerned about benefiting from the dams located in the territory of the state without a care for its people.
He said that, unfortunately, the Office of National Bureau of Statistics had no information on the volume of electricity by megawatts generated by the dams from 1968 to 2019, except for those of 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
They gave the NBS’s computation of the volume of electricity by megawatts generated into the national grid from 2020 to 2023 as follows:
“The sum total megawatt generated in 2020 is equal to 2,232,706.27, 2021 equal to 2,632,348.00, 2022 equal to 2,830,002.96 and in 2023 equal to 2,658,612.96.
These dams have generated fiscal revenue which has been controlled by the federal government and have been indisputably redistributed equally among the constituent states without considering the host state since 1968.
Mr Ndarani stated that Niger and its citizens and residents suffer continuous exploitation, neglect and ravaging floods owing to the power-generating activities of the federal government and its agencies.
He argued that the federal government continues to enjoy the profits from the dams, leaving the state in penury and misery.
He added that the pitiable, miserable and hopeless plight of the Niger indigenes and residents alike cannot be overemphasised.
In spite of all these, the federal government has also not paid attention to the adverse environmental impacts of the activities of the power-generating companies at the dams.
He said that not even the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has put any programme in place to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the state.
(NAN)