*14 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 14 councils#
- Anka
- Bakura
- Birnin Magaji/Kiyaw
- Bukkuyum
- Bungudu
- Gummi
- Gusau
- Kaura Namoda
- Maradun
- Maru
- Shinkafi
- Talata Mafara
- Tsafe
- Zurmi
Notes on the roster#
14 LGAs — the smallest count in the North West. Anka, Bukkuyum, Maru and Zurmi contain the artisanal gold fields whose economics underwrite the banditry the state has been unable to police; Anka and Bukkuyum were also the epicentre of the 2010 lead-poisoning disaster that killed at least 400 children.
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)