Niger demands 13% derivation from power generated from hydro dams

The Niger State Government is demanding 13 per cent derivation in the allocation of electricity generated from the nation’s three hydro-electricity dams located in the state.

The State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello made the demand yesterday in Minna at a stakeholders meeting with representatives of communities hosting the dams and companies in power generation, transmission and distribution.

The state, which has been in virtual blackout for close to three months now, has seen business and domestic activities paralysed.

Worried by the potential threat to peace and security which the incessant blackout posed to the state, Governor Sani Bello convened the meeting with a view identifying and finding solutions to the problem.

Bello faulted the equitable distribution of power from the national grid, stressing that the era of equitable sharing of the country’s endowments was, unfortunately, long gone. “Something extra should be given to the state, which is what the host communities and my people are saying”, he added.

Also speaking for the communities hosting the three dams in the state, Mrs. Roseline Abara, who is the State Commissioner for Gender Affairs, lamented that inability of the management of the dams to meet their corporate social responsibility to the host communities had continued to heighten tension in the areas.