BY EMMA AMAIZE, REGIONAL EDITOR, S-SOUTH
The first part of this special report was published last Friday
WHAT do you know   about the present 13 per cent derivation that the oil states are receiving?

The 13 per cent that we succeeded in getting couldn’t have come if not for the approval of the late military titan, Gen. Sani Abacha and it was fought for by the oil-bearing communities. We started by taking into cognizance that the oil-bearing communities have been shortchanged because when the country’s economic life was agriculture, the principles of derivation then was 50:50.

Fifty per cent to the states producing groundnuts, cotton, while the west was producing cocoa and some parts, rubber and the south east – palm produce, then the 50 per cent given to them was solely for the states to develop themselves. But when it became oil, way back 1958 at commercial quantities, the oil was used by Gowon in those days to fight the civil war. So many of our boys died in 1990 while in quest for the derivation, they were killed on the allegation that they were trying to stage a coup.

Era of agro economy

We were not given our share as what obtained in the era of agro-economy and former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, of course, had many of our boys killed and later approved only three per cent  and OMPADEC was put in place in 1992.

How 13 per cent derivation came about

The then three per cent was used to develop the oil- bearing communities. But we felt that was to infinitesimal and we then fought, the traditional rulers, under the Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON and the host communities, we had Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria, OMPCON, led by Chief Wellington Okrika and the two groups were working in tandem, we went through thick and thin to convince late General Sani Abacha that we should be given a share of what is being used by the entire country.

HRM Charles Ayemi-Botu, ex-national chairman, TROMPCON

It was then and there that Late Abacha approved not less than 13 per cent derivation for the oil -producing communities and this money should be channeled through OMPADEC because the hitherto three per cent was not enough, we were getting about N214 million a month and it cannot take care of eight states and it was increased to 13 per cent.

We had this done during the 1994 constitutional conference and before it was approved, we went to Abuja till Gen. Abacha approved and it was enshrined in the 1994 Constitution which came to be in 1995. Abacha did not stop there, he went on to establish the Ministry of Solid Minerals and in his October 1st broadcast, the ministry of solid minerals was approved and portfolios were put in place and that was effective from that October, he appointed a minister for the ministry.

But the 13 per cent derivation was left behind, it was only provisionally approved but we thought that in a few years after the 13 per cent will jerk up to 25 per cent and later to 50 per cent as we had our fellow Nigerians from the North and the South west had 50 per cent when it was agro-economy. But the 13 per cent issue has become a ding-dong affair and we fought so much for it to become a reality. It became effective on January 1st, 2000, after the civilian government took over in May, 1999.

Oil state govs hijacked derivation fund: They did not allow it to see the light of day until 2000 when Chief Obasanjo now allowed it to come on board, why was it so? Obasanjo never wanted OMPADEC to continue for reason that it was founded on faulty ground and so he decided that until another commission is established… so NDDC was established in 2000, the amount that was meant to be used by NDDC was hijacked by the state governors of the oil- producing states. How?

Development of the area

Article 162 sub-section 1 and 2 of the 1995 of the military-doctored constitution stated that not less than 13 per cent of the oil money should be made available for the development of the area, so they cited it and had a meeting with the President (Obasanjo) and he felt, I cannot give out all the money to you because it was meant for interventionist agency. He said that since NDDC was in place, he was going to give 60 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation to them, that 40 per cent should go to NDDC for the development of the oil producing areas.

Suspicion about Obasanjo: The 60 per cent was taken by the governors and we, TROMPCON and leaders felt that the President did well for keeping 40 per cent for NDDC, but he should sign the NDDC Act into law. When the National Assembly passed it and sent back for him to sign, he refused to sign, so after the mandatory period, the National Assembly had to use its veto power before the NDDC Act came into law.

When we noticed this, we said that we thought that the President meant well for us for keeping a part for the development of oil-producing communities, because the 13 per cent derivation was actually meant for the development of oil- producing communities. So in December, 2000, myself and the late Ovie of Oghara, we met with former governor of Delta state, Chief  James Ibori, and told him that the 13 per cent derivation of which 60 per cent go to state governors and 40 per cent is kept should be fought for. I still remember vividly that from May 29,1999 to December 1999, since the constitution had gone into operation, the amount that was accruable on the 13 per cent was not sent because Obasanjo started implementation in January 2000, and so we still have about seven months of monies tied down.

There was also OMPADEC N42 billion that was not sent, only God knows the special account this money was kept. So we met Ibori and requested for the assistance of the state government to organize a conference of TROMPCON to discuss and call on the President that he should release the 40 per cent to the governors since he was not willing to approve the NDDC Act. Ibori gave us some money which we used to convey a national conference of TROMPCON at P.T.I Conference Centre, Effurun. At the end we came out with a communiqué calling on the President to release the 40 per cent remaining to the state government. Later, Bayelsa State was created and it became nine states, and later the full 13 per cent derivation was released to the oil states.

Horizontal and vertical sharing formula: When the monies were released, we met with RMAFC and dialogued that the fund was initially meant to be disbursed on 60 per cent to the states and 40 per cent to NDDC for the development of the actual oil-bearing communities. So the RMFAC agreed with us that there should be a horizontal and vertical sharing formula of this money.

In that wise, a part of the money should be for that state and a part goes to the oil areas and down to the oil communities, this was what we arrived at. This matter was done effectively and sent to the National Assembly but the state governors went to lobby and prevailed and it did not see the light of the day. It was only Governor Olusegun Agagu of Ondo State, who because of the yearnings of his people set on the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission.

How oil govs double-crossed oil communities: Then in 2005, we had the Niger Delta States Economic meeting, arranged by Obasanjo at the banquet hall on April, 6, 2005, during which I raised up the issue that only Ondo State has set an interventionist agency. The President then charged the other governors to set up the agencies before the next meeting as the money was meant for it. Though Agagu was not present, the others got a hot warning to set up the state commissions. After much ado, in 2006, Edo State came up with EDOPADEC before Delta and Imo states, but as I talk with you, the likes of Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states have refused to set up the state commissions.

You can see that the money that was meant for the people has been hijacked by the state governments apart from the ones I counted that set up the commissions and even shared the money. Part is being used by the state and the other part goes to the oil -bearing areas. We are not satisfied with the way it is going and secondly, that amount is still at not less than 13 per cent  in 1994, approved in 1995 and came to being in 2000. For more than 12 years that money has remained at 13 per cent, so that is why we are calling for the principle of derivation in a true fiscal capital federalism and in federal Presidential government.

All that is obtained in a particular state or region, local government or community, the loose federating units can only receive royalities, we collect it and pay to the central government as it is obtained in America, Canada, Australia and most of the oil-bearing states that are practicing some system of government.

Derivation principles

Why is our own different and not to talk of the call that this amount be shared with other people when you know that in their time, we did not benefit.

What do you make of the present brouhaha over derivation by the North when the target  is 50 per cent?

I kept on repeating it all these years what Alhaji Mohammed Gambi Jimeta, a former Inspector General of Police said at that time. He said that the north will go to war, that the issue of oil and derivation principles should not be discussed. It was reported in the Newswatch Magazine.

He said no way, oil matter is a no go area, that was no question of giving the people even peanuts, so when we fought and it was approved, not less than 13 per cent  it was a stepping stone. We thought that every period after the approval, it will be jerked to 25 per cent and we even targeted a five per cent  increase periodically till it gets to the 50 per cent because what is good for the goose is good for the gander.