Benjamin Okaba, president of the Ijaw National Congress
(INC), has described the bill seeking to add Lagos, Kogi and Bauchi to the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as a “mockery” of the region’s
essence.
The bill seeking to include the three states as part of the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) passed the second reading at the
senate last Thursday.
It has since become a polarising topic of debate among
stakeholders in the country.
Adding his voice to the debate, Okaba, in a chat with Arise
TV on Monday, said the bill is “unacceptable” because the NDDC “has a clear
geographical definition and characterisation”.
He said other oil-bearing states outside the region should
only get the 13 percent derivation given to oil-producing areas but not
included in the commission.
“The NDDC, in the first instance, has a clear geographical
definition and characterisation. It’s not about oil-bearing. And to understand
all of these, we need to go back far into history, from the reports of the
Willinks commission that recognised the peculiarity of the region –the major
challenges and therefore recommended the establishment of a board that will
alleviate the fears of the people and act as a special agency for the rapid
development of people of the region. At this time when this recommendation was
made, there was no oil,” the INC president said.
“Then we now have the NDDC in 2000 to cater for the mandate
of the region. The NDDC act provides for, in addition to the 13 percent
derivation, another 10 percent to address the challenges of the people. Around
that time, when states that was not part of the region were included, people
protested.
“We have a natural area called the Niger Delta, and the
politicisation of the Niger Delta is unacceptable. And we foresaw further
bastardisation. The inclusion is to say that what was envisaged long ago is
coming to pass. The point we are making is that if oil is now found in other
places, there’s a law that says that for oil-producing land, 13 percent should
be given to them. But that should not qualify them as Niger Delta. This is a
bastardisation and unacceptable to us. It’s making a mockery of our essence.”
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