By Emem Idio

YENAGOA—COORDINATOR of Niger Delta Peoples’ Congress, NPC, and member of the Dialogue Group,  Chief Mike Loyibo, has advocated the direct transfer of the 13 per cent derivation to oil producing and host communities in the Niger Delta to enable them manage the funds for their development.

Loyibo

He said until the host communities were allowed to manage their resources and pay taxes to government, peace and development will continue to elude the region, stressing that anything short of resource control will continue to fuel agitations within the region.

Loyibo, who spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, commended the President Muhammadu  Buhari-led government for its efforts towards addressing the age-long issues of the Niger Delta and called on stakeholders in the region to support the Federal Government’s development initiatives for the region.

He said: “The Niger Delta problem is not President Buhari administration problem, it has been there since 1958, but what we are simply saying is, give the 13 percent derivation to the host communities directly and allow the host communities to control their resources and pay taxes as was the case with cocoa and groundnut, then there will be peace in the Niger Delta.”