*25 local government areas, as listed in the First Schedule, Part I of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. The list is constitutional, not administrative: a state may create development areas, but only an alteration of the Constitution can create a local government that draws from the Federation Account. Section 162(5)–(8) routes each council's share through a State Joint Local Government Account controlled by the state government — the arrangement the Supreme Court ruled against in Attorney-General of the Federation v. Attorney-General of Abia State & 35 Ors (11 July 2024), holding that allocations must go directly to democratically elected councils.*
The 25 councils#
- Agaie
- Agwara
- Bida
- Borgu
- Bosso
- Chanchaga
- Edati
- Gbako
- Gurara
- Katcha
- Kontagora
- Lapai
- Lavun
- Magama
- Mariga
- Mashegu
- Mokwa
- Munya
- Paikoro
- Rafi
- Rijau
- Shiroro
- Suleja
- Tafa
- Wushishi
Notes on the roster#
Niger is the largest state in Nigeria by land area (76,363 km²) and hosts three of the country's four hydro dams — Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro — in Borgu, Mokwa and Shiroro LGAs respectively. Shiroro and Munya have been among the worst-hit by banditry and kidnapping since 2020.
References
Sources#
- Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), First Schedule Part I
- INEC local government delimitation register
- Supreme Court of Nigeria, SC/CV/343/2024, judgment of 11 July 2024 (local government financial autonomy)