Joseph Atainyang
Elder statesman and leader of the Niger Delta region, Chief Edwin Clark has called on the federal government of Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari to change the payment channel of the 13 percent oil derivation to the oil producing communities.
Clark who is the Chairman, Board of Trustees of Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said the new payment channel is important to ensure effective development of the Niger Delta region, especially the oil producing areas.
The 93-year-old was speaking during an exclusive interview with Channels TV at his Kiagbodo hometown in Delta State, on the night of Monday, May 17, 2021.
The Ijaw National Leader expressed disappointment over the abysmal manner in which the governors of the region have been spending the money without anything to show.
The nonagenarian went down the hills of history, tracing modifications of the oil percentage from when it was 2 percent, stating that when the 13 percent was first paid, President Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua decided to pay the money to the governors of the state.
“Part of the problems we are having in the Niger Delta is caused by the governors of the Niger Delta. There is nowhere in the Constitution which says that the oil derivation funds must be paid to the state governors.
“It was the discretion of President Yar ‘Adua to pay the money to the governors. He thought that since there were no other authorities that such monies should be paid to, he could do so through the governors.
“There is nothing on ground to show for the billions of naira which governors of the nine Niger Delta states have been receiving since the time of President Yar ‘Adua”, he said.
Clark reiterated that only payment of such funds directly to the oil producing communities will bring about the desired development that will change the narrative of underdevelopment in the region.
It could be recalled that the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang had on September 26, 2020, called on the oil producing communities to rise and demand accountability from their governors for pocketing their development fund.
“I worked hard to ensure the implementation of the 13 percent derivation to the oil producing states. But the Niger Delta governors have not used the monies to develop the oil producing communities.
“Go to the entire Oron region, it has become the darkness of its old self because the governor has not used the derivation money to develop the area.
“The 13 percent derivation funds is not a gift to the governors. It is a special fund set aside for the development of the oil producing communities, to fix the negative environmental impact of oil exploitation.
“I call on the people of Oro, Uruan, Ibeno, Onna and the rest to rise and demand accountability from Udom Emmanuel. The communities should rise and demand a return of their funds so they can be developed,” Enang was quoted as saying.