A former federal lawmaker, Farah Dagogo, has raised concerns about the utilisation of the 13 per cent derivation funds by the governors of the nine Niger Delta states, which are intended for oil-producing communities.
Dagogo, who represented Bonny-Degema Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, made this assertion in a statement issued by his aide Ibrahim Lawal in Port Harcourt on Monday morning.
He expressed alarm that the Niger Delta region has received trillions of naira constitutionally accrued to it through the 13 per cent derivation for over 23 years.
While noting that over N600bn of that sum has already been received in the first half of 2024, he criticised successive governors from the region for failing to improve the welfare of the communities, where people continue to live in “squalor, diseases, and reeking with the worst and highest form of poverty.”
Despite the apparent failures of the Federal Government, Dagogo acknowledged that it “has not failed to actualize a steady increment in the 13 per cent derivation to the Niger Delta governors.”
The statement reads, “In January, N57.92 billion was released to oil-producing states. In February, it rose to N85.10 billion, and in March, the Niger Delta oil-producing states got N166.24 billion.
“The sums were N90.12 billion, N120.45 billion, and N106.50 billion for April, May, and June, respectively. Yes, we all agree that this Federal Government has not lived up to its billing.
“However, in this instance, you have to agree and acknowledge that these allocations demonstrate the Federal Government’s continued support for state governments, particularly in oil-producing regions, where the derivation funds serve as a critical source of revenue for addressing their unique challenges.”
Dagogo explained that the lack of effective utilisation of the funds has led the people to develop a “subconscious apathy” towards the amounts being released.
He lamented that the condition of oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, given that the 13 per cent derivation—which is intended to assist these communities in tackling infrastructural decay and degradation—is mostly mismanaged and unaccounted for by the governors.
The former lawmaker further stated that instead of acting as custodians, the governors see the funds as “free monies.”
He continued, “This 13 per cent derivation is the fund set aside to assist oil-producing communities in tackling infrastructural decay and degradation—my emphasis on the oil-producing communities!
“It is a constitutional requirement, and what it means is that in sharing the federation account revenue, 13 per cent should be set aside to assist the development of these oil-producing communities.
“More than two decades down the line, what is there to show for the humongous monies that have come in?
“This is a very sad commentary as it relates to the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta. What we have instead are governors trying to impose their stooges to continue that lineage of plundering that fund.
“That’s the result of most in-fighting between former governors and their installed successors. Conduct an investigation into these areas, these oil-producing communities, and you will weep when you gauge their abject living conditions against what has been allocated for them. No electricity, no drinking water, no roads—total lack of basic amenities.”
The statement further questioned, “Why are the Governors, who receive these funds on behalf of these communities, so indifferent to their plight? They have established a pattern of filling their pockets with funds and continuing to live large rather than committing them to the development of the communities.
“The answer lies in how the governor wishes to expend the funds, as opposed to its constitutional provisions.
“We need an explanation, with irrefutable facts, on how the derivation funds intended to better the lives of the people and their oil-producing communities have been expended,” he added.
Dagogo concluded, with a note of scepticism, that the expected explanations could only be imagined, saying, “It will not produce anything concrete, especially as it seems the the people have developed subconscious apathy to their deprivation.”
“I want to strongly believe that it is never too late to correct the wrongs of the past.
“I also want to have a positive conviction that this set of governors will side with the right side of history and do justice to the revenues they are getting on behalf of the oil-producing communities,” he said.