By Emma Amaize & Egufe Yafugborhi

WARRI—Ijaw leader and former chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Chief Wellington Okirika, yesterday, said that Ijaw oil and gas producing communities mellowed down on the amended DESOPADEC bill because Governor Ifeanyi Okowa listened to wise counsel.

Chief Welligton Okrika

Chief Okirika in a statement commended the state House of Assembly for doing a good job on the bill, which was recently passed into law. He added that he advised the governor to allow wider consultation on the widely criticized bill and he accepted by meeting with Ijaw traditional rulers and leaders to break the deadlock.

Ijaw oil and gas communities had given an ultimatum to Governor Okowa to rescind the bill, as well as oil companies to vacate their facilities in their territories.

Okirika said: “As a result of the fruitful discussions with the governor, Ijaw communities withdrew the ultimatum issued on the bill and made their input on the bill which had just been passed into law, Okowa is a listening governor.”

On the attacks he received over his earlier comments on the bill before its passage by the state House of Assembly, he said he would not join issues with the critics, but would rather set the records right.

“Thirteen per cent derivation fund as enshrined in the 1999 amended Nigerian constitution belongs to the oil and gas producing communities as compensation for loss of fishing and farming rights by the affected communities. Its implementation and discussion as a result should be for oil and gas areas.

“When the 13 per cent derivation was being implemented unconstitutionally by the federal and state governments, I rose up to a second agitation and advocacy that led to the creation of oil commissions in some states; Delta, Edo, Imo and Abia.”

He said that further agitation by critical stakeholders led the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, to affirm that 13 per cent derivation belongs exclusively to oil and gas communities, while the 2014 National confab resolved that 50 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation be paid directly to oil and gas producing communities.