The Phantom Wealth of States
Fresh economic disclosures on subnational finance reveal an enduring paradox of the Nigerian federation. States endowed with vast deposits of critical minerals, lithium, tantalite, gold, lead, zinc, and rare-earth elements, continue to record near-negligible figures for internally generated revenue (IGR). From the lithium-heavy corridors of Nasarawa and Kwara to the goldfields of Osun and Zamfara,…