Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State joined elders and youths of the Niger Delta yesterday in dismissing demands by northern Governors for the scrapping of the derivation principle in revenue allocation just as it emerged that the restoration of peace to the Niger Delta has led to a daily increase of N34 billion into the federal treasury.
Noting that the Niger Delta region was today getting 100% of the pollution and other incidental damages associated with oil exploitation, the stakeholders from the region said it was unrealistic for the North to look at the benefits to the oil producing region without considering the negatives.
Among those who also rebuffed the demand were elder statesman and second republic Senator, Obi Nosike Ikpo; defunct Biafra warlord, Chief Joseph Achuzia; Leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee and Presidential Adviser on the Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku.
Answering questions from journalists in Abuja, Orji urged the leaders of the northern states to look inwards and develop resources in the north, saying that the North has been favoured in the sharing over the years.
“On restructuring of revenue, all of us are saying that it should be re-examined so that more money can be made available to the states and local governments because that is where the major action is.
“Niger State Governor was talking of continental shelf; every state is blessed with one thing or the other. You don’t carry the blessing of one state to the other. If oil has come to Niger Delta, preference should be given to the states in terms of sharing because they also suffer the degradation that comes from the exploitation of oil”.
Senator Ikpo who said he was at a loss over the demand by the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Niger State Governor, Nuhu Aliyu said:
“It is an untenable argument on the part of the northern governors. You cannot take what you don’t have or what you don’t contribute. The oil is in the Niger-Delta; they are the ones that are feeling the effects of the gas flaring, and they are the ones that their environments are being polluted and the ones that have been deprived of their means of livelihood due to oil exploration and exploitation.
“It is an untenable argument on the part of the northern governors. You cannot take what you don’t have or what you don’t contribute. The oil is in the Niger-Delta; they are the ones that are feeling the effects of the gas flaring, and they are the ones that their environments are being polluted and the ones that have been deprived of their means of livelihood due to oil exploration and exploitation.
“The north is not feeling any impact of ecological degradation; it is because of the sufferings they are facing as a result of the exploitation of oil in their land that derivation is being paid to them.”
On his part, Achuzia famed as Air Raid on account of his accomplishments in the defunct Biafran Army asked rhetorically: “Why should the revenue formula be reviewed? Is it to increase the 13 per cent derivation to 50 per cent, which is the legitimate rights of the oil and gas states or to reduce the paltry derivation”?
He said he was surprised that the northern governors who raised the issue anew could not advance informed reason for their demand, saying, “the true colour of the north is coming out for other sections of the country to see”.
Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Kingsley kuku on his part declared while addressing ex-militants that the current level of funding of the Niger Delta is still insignificant, compared with its contribution to the nation’s economy.
“What you (ex-militants) have given to Nigeria, if you don’t know, I will tell you – because you accepted peace, at the time that Amnesty was offered, crude oil production was 700, 000 bpd; things were tough; things were hard in this country.
“If you didn’t accept amnesty, even if the whole Niger Delta would die, and you said no, maybe Nigeria would be producing no oil today. But you accepted amnesty; today oil production is at 2.68 million bpd.”
Also speaking on the issue, Leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, (MOSOP), Mr Ledum Mitee said if the North is calling for more revenue, they must be ready to share the hazards associated with oil.
In a phone interview with Vanguard, Mitee maintained that the increase in derivation for the South-south was associated with the exploit of resources and the neglect of the area over the years.
His words, “The derivation increase which the Niger Delta or South-South asked for was because of hazards associated with the exploit of resources in their area and the years of neglect. I think the derivation is consistent with justice of this country and one would wonder on what basis the North is asking for more derivation”.
He went further, “If you look at my committee, we made recommendation for an increase in the revenue for the oil producing communities in a manner that also will boost the infrastructural development equivalent to those areas at the same time consistent with a help to boost the national unity”.
“If you are to make an increase in the revenue accrued to the South-South states and you target it in such a way that the increase will be dedicated to improvement or investment in cotton industry, though the revenue from that investment might be accrued to the South- south states, it will also create jobs in the North and these are some of the things that need to be done, it is not enough to just ask for increase just because another person gets” he submitted.
He however said, “For the South-south zone that is getting the 100percent pollution, are we also going to share the hazards associated with oil with the Northern states”.
No comments:
Post a Comment