Fiscal Federalism and Agitations for Resource Control in Nigeria: A South-South Perspective

Abstract

Nigeria is facing multiple and staggering problems, some of which are so fundamental as to be capable of leading to the disintegration of the country if not properly and tactfully resolved. There is a general feeling by the southern minorities who inhabit the core Niger Delta States that Nigeria is today a Federation in name. In practice, it is structurally unbalanced with a strong central government that has abandoned derivation as the basis of sharing rents and royalties that accrue to states in the oil producing areas notwithstanding the fact that these states continue to bear the environmental and socio-economic hazards associated with oil production. Hence, the agitation for fiscal federalism and resource control. Although the two concepts are frequently used interchangeably in the ensuing debate, this paper contends that resource control unlike fiscal federalism is the control of both a fiscal and a mode of governance framework by states directly affected by the exploration of the various resources. For this paper, resource control built on an appropriate mode of governance framework is important for the resolution of the various agitations prevalent in the South-south region and many other parts of the country.

Keywords: Agitation, Fiscal Federalism, Governance framework, Resource Control, South-South