Senators from the South-South geo-political zone on Wednesday kicked against the moves by the Senate to include Lagos, Ogun, Bauchi and others that have attained the status of oil producing states into Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo- Agege (APC, Delta Central), Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South) and George Sekibo(PDP, Rivers East) said NDDC was created to address the environmental degradation caused by oil exploration in the region.
Omo-Agege described the sponsor of the bill, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Lagos West) as a classic meddlesome interloper and advised him and his cohorts to intensify efforts for the creation of South West Development Commission.
They asked Adeola to pursue the establishment of a commission to address developmental issues in the South-West instead of seeking to make Lagos and others members of NDDC.
Despite the stiff opposition by the senators, the bill scaled second reading.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, referred the Bill for an Act to amend the NDDC Act to the Peter Nwaoboshi (APC, Delta North) for further legislative action and report back at plenary in four weeks.
In his lead debate on the general principles of the bill, Adeola noted: “Following the discovery of oil in Bauchi, Lagos and Ogun, these states have officially joined the league of oil producing states in Nigeria following the discovery of crude oil in Alkaleri LGA, Bauchi; Badagry, Lagos, and Ipokia, Ogun State.
“By virtue of this, the states are entitled to the 13 per cent derivation that is due to oil producing states, according to the provision of Section 162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigerian constitution.”
In his contribution, Urhoghide said: “I am not particularly against the sponsor of this bill. I just believe that the bill should be properly posited. Today, what each state gets from the 13 per cent derivation is a function of production.
“Today, Gombe is fast becoming a host community, Bauchi and some other states. But to say these states belong to Niger Delta is not possible.
“If the idea is you want to share out of the 13 per cent derivation, they are at will as long as they produce oil but to say they must belong to Niger Delta, it makes mockery of the idea in the creation of NDDC.”
On his part, Omo-Agege said: “We look forward to the day when indeed all states in Nigeria will not only produce oil but produce one form of mineral resource or the other.
“What this lead debate clearly shows is that my colleague from Lagos is a classic meddlesome interloper. The NDDC is a regional development commission. We must draw a distinction between the NDDC and the oil and mineral producing commission.”
On his part, Sekibo said: “I congratulate these states where my friend said they have discovered oil. What I don’t know is that whether the oil is in commercial quantity and they are exploring them for sale and the money going to Nigerian coffers. That one, he has not expatiated on that one.
“Are they exploring oil, are they refining oil in these places and has the oil caused any devastation in that environment? The purpose of the NDDC is not just because they found oil there, it is because the place has been so devastated and there is a need to see how they can remedy the place and because that place is so backward.
“Each time there is a law to support a backward people, to support people who are suffering, Nigerians will come out after a couple of years to dampen the strength of that law.
“There is nothing wrong that they are given their 13 per cent derivation, that is if funds from those oil are now in the US, they are exploring them, are they?”
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