The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has decried the diversion of the 13 per cent oil derivation funds by oil producing states.
Specifically, he made a case for 100 per cent utilisation of the funds for oil-bearing communities, as against the practice where states release only 50 per cent of the money to development commissions in their states.
The Delta Central lawmaker noted that since host communities bore the burden of environmental degradation from the oil industry, it was only fair that all funds be channeled into the development of the affected areas.
He made the remarks when he hosted a delegation of Oil and Gas Host Communities of Nigeria, HOSCON, led by the Amayanabo of Twon-Brass in Brass Kingdom and Chairman, Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, Chief Alfred Diete-Spiff.
Omo-Agege who chairs the Senate Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, expressed regrets that the utilisation of the 13 per cent derivation funds had become a political tool in the hands of state governors in the region.
He said the diversion of the money had contributed gravely to the underdevelopment of the region as the affected communities could hardly boast of having access to the basic necessities of life.
His words: “I have been discussing this matter with Chief (Wellington) Okrika even before I became a senator. It is fair that the 13 per cent derivation is meant to ameliorate the conditions of the people who are most impacted by oil exploration and exploitation. That is the only reason this fund was set aside as a consequence of your agitation which you led for so many years.
“These funds are not meant for the state governments. The state governments are meant to be purveyors to host communities. Even in states that have development commissions, they only earmark 50 per cent of the funds to the Commission to manage on behalf of the host communities. So what happens to the other 50 per cent? We have always taken the position from the outset that 100 per cent of the funds is meant for the development of host communities because it is not every area that suffers from oil exploration and degradation. But for some reasons, it has become a political tool.”
