President Bola Tinubu has been enjoined to “issue an Executive Order to ensure the legal, constitutional, and people-oriented implementation of the 13 percent Derivation Fund for oil and gas producing communities, particularly Host Communities”.
Coordinator of Niger Delta Civil Society Forum (NDCSF), Comrade Ezekiel Kagbala, made the appeal in a statement issued on Wednesday.
He alleged that state governments were abusing the derivation funds, noting that the oil-bearing communities were facing challenges of neglect, poverty, absence of medical facilities and so on.
“We have written to President Tinubu, appealing to him to exercise his constitutional authority over matters on the Exclusive Legislative List, specifically Item 39, under which oil and gas resources are classified.
“Since oil and gas resources have historically and constitutionally remained on the Exclusive Legislative List, the President is empowered to act through an Executive Order to correct perceived anomalies in the administration of the Derivation Fund”, he said.
He said the derivation fund policy came into existence to address the challenges of abandonment, poverty and neglect currently facing the oil and gas bearing communities.
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“The derivation principle was designed to directly address the developmental challenges and environmental burdens borne by oil and gas producing communities, but existing implementation practices have continued to undermine these objectives”, he said.
The group also appealed to the federal government to establish a 13 percent derivation body in each of the oil and gas producing states to work alongside a Presidential Monitoring Committee, adding that the steps would enhance transparent management of the derivation funds in the various oil and gas communities.
“During the administration of Ex-President Shehu Shagari, when the derivation formula stood at 1.5 percent, Derivation Committees and a Presidential Monitoring Committee were put in place to oversee fund utilisation.
“Similarly, under the administration of Ibrahim Babangida, when derivation was increased to 3 percent, a dedicated federal agency the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) was established to manage the funds through a specialised structure rather than direct allocation to state authorities.
“These precedents show that allocating the 13 per cent Derivation Fund directly to state governments is inconsistent with constitutional intent, historical practice, and the principles of equity and justice, as long as oil and gas remain on the Exclusive Legislative List,” the group said.
The group also commended Chief Dr Wellington Okirika, aka Oga 13 percent derivation, for driving the advocacy for payment of the funds to oil and gas communities in the early age of the fourth republic.
(Eagle Online)
