Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been criticised over his renewed call for an increase in the 13 per cent derivation allocation to oil-producing states, with former President of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, Senator Ibok Essien, accusing him of hypocrisy.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Senator Ibok Essien said Obasanjo opposed the derivation allocation while serving as president and failed to act on recommendations to increase the percentage during his administration.
“So I see it as hypocrisy. When he was also president, he set up the Political Reform Conference, which I was a member, and then we recommended to him an increase of the 13% to 17%. We from the Niger Delta wanted 25% increase, but the conference recommended 17% increase and he did not do anything about it.”
Essien said Obasanjo had also opposed the onshore-offshore dichotomy and resisted efforts to secure the 13 per cent derivation payments for oil-producing states.
He said the former president had the opportunity to address the concerns of the Niger Delta during his eight years in office but did not support the proposed increase.
“So I’m surprised that almost nineteen years after he left office, he’s now coming to propose an increase for the Niger Delta region. I don’t see where the love is coming from.”
Although Essien welcomed Obasanjo’s renewed call, he said he remained doubtful about the former president’s sincerity, given his record on the issue.
“So, I to that extent, appreciate his statement, but I’m not sure that he’s very sincere with that statement that he’s talking.”
The former PANDEF president called on the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to recommend an increase in the derivation allocation, citing environmental pollution, ecological problems and the devastation affecting communities in the Niger Delta.
He recalled that the commission had proposed raising the allocation from 13 per cent to 15 per cent during a review conducted between 2010 and 2015, but the proposal was not implemented.
“So it is the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission that has responsibility to propose an increase for the Niger Delta people, and I pray and believe that they should have the nerve to do it because the suffering in the Niger Delta region is too much.”
Essien urged the commission to recommend a 25 per cent derivation allocation, arguing that communities producing natural resources deserve a greater share of the revenue generated from them.
“So, I’m appealing to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission that has responsibility for the review of Nigeria’s revenue, to increase the derivation to 25%. After all, it is not only for oil. The derivation is also for all other natural resources that are obtained in this country.”
He stated that increasing the allocation would benefit other parts of Nigeria, noting that states outside the Niger Delta also produce valuable minerals and natural resources.
“The increase in derivation will affect almost all parts of this country. So, it’s not only the oil-producing states. Why do we rely only solely on oil when we are producing gold, when we are producing other minerals? So, I think and believe that there should be that increase because it will help all the sections of this country.”
Essien also appealed to the National Assembly and other relevant authorities to support the proposed increase, saying it could help address the challenges facing resource-producing communities across the country.
Ojo Triumph
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