Host Communities Producing Oil and Gas in Nigeria (HOSCON), an umbrella body of oil producing communities in Nigeria has accused government of oil producing states of allegedly mismanaging the 13% derivatives allocated by the federal government, leaving the host communities impoverished and underdeveloped.
The National President of the organization, Mike Emuh who stated this in a maiden National Conference on 13% Derivation Funds, called oin the Federal Government to halt further allocation of the fund to the states. He explained that the payment of the funds to the state was unlawful as the 1999 Constitution, Section 162, Sub-section 2, clearly says the money should be paid to the host communities.
According to him, “It was a gross misplacement of priority that the13 per cent derivation funds were given to governors who lavished the money for the past 16 years without any development — human capital development and infrastructural development. Over 10 trillion naira had gone down the drain by those that claimed the money by then and this wrong act is still in practice till now.”
Emuh appealed to the government to impliment the law by paying the derivation funds directly to the communities. He also called for the restructuring of the various oil producing areas development commissions put in place by the state government.
“Basically, these agencies are lame agencies in the sense that 50 per cent of the13 per cent derivation was granted to DESOPADEC of Delta state, 40 per cent was allocated to similar agencies in Abia, Edo, Ondo and other state till date. Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and others failed to give any percentage or to establish the agency."
“Who controls that percentage? It is the Governors of the state that controls the agency; they appointed the commissioners. Let me give an example. The 13 percent monthly inflow of the fund to Delta state is not less than N10 billion. 50 per cent of that is N5 billion every month. N5 billion multiplied by 12 months, it will give us 60 billion."
"I can assure you that till date N60 billion, N50 billion or N40 billion have never one day been released to the DESOPADEC; so it is just a name. Let those agencies be collapsed; let host communities control this agencies; let them do the nomination and let them design the project, execute it and supervise it” he submitted.
